The man who stopped doing nothing

Summary: When a celebrated fund manager changes the investing rule that made him famous, it is tempting to wonder if you should rethink your own approach too. But is the lesson really what it seems? This piece explores a crucial difference most investors overlook.

Summary: When a celebrated fund manager changes the investing rule that made him famous, it is tempting to wonder if you should rethink your own approach too. But is the lesson really what it seems? This piece explores a crucial difference most investors overlook. I recently read the half-yearly letter that Terry Smith, one of Britain’s best-known fund managers, sends to his investors, and one part of it has stayed stuck in my mind. Smith built a considerable reputation over the past 15 years on three simple rules: buy good companies, avoid overpaying for them, and then do nothing. It was the third rule that made him most effective, because sitting still is the one thing most investors find hardest, and his willingness to do it while others tinkered set him apart. So it was quite something to read in this letter his admission that the third rule was the on

This article was originally published on July 20, 2026.