Analyst's Diary: An investing checklist

'The English Warren Buffett', as he is fondly called, Terry Smith, has built a formidable reputation with his straightforward yet effective investment philosophy. As the founder of the London-based investment management company Fundsmith, the fund manager has earned admiration for his set-and-forget investment approach. Since its launch in 2010, Fundsmith's flagship product, the Fundsmith Equity Fund, which focuses on global equities, has delivered an annualised return of 15 per cent (as of September 30, 2024), handily outpacing its benchmark, the MSCI World Index, which returned around 12 per cent during the same period. Smith's secret to beating the market? A disciplined, long-term strategy focused on buying high-quality businesses and holding them for the long haul, as prescribed in his own words - "Buy good companies, Don't