Meet Doug: His retirement portfolio has compounding at the core and a healthy dose of mining stocks

Doug began his early 20s in a way a lot of us can relate to - short on money but determined to see the world. And that’s where the similarities for most of us probably end. 

Taking a job with an overland tour company led him to South America and a 17 year chapter of life living in Ecuador where he learned Spanish, met his wife and built a guesthouse on the edge of Ecuador’s Amazon basin, navigating the realities of small-business ownership far from home.

Since returning to Australia, Doug has founded and sold several ventures, including a whale-watching business in Hervey Bay, and now describes himself (half-jokingly) as a “recovering small business owner”. 

These days, his focus has shifted to investing, especially focusing on backing innovative companies with a competitive advantage, particularly in healthcare and emerging technologies.

While a fair chunk of our conversation was devoted to our shared love of horror movies, speaking with Doug was a reminder that investment takes many forms, and that curiosity, conviction and calculated risk are good guides to build wealth, but most importantly, a life well-lived.

Investor profile

Can you share how you got started in investing and what your first investment was?

My very first investment was a ferret for $15. People talk about being burnt by their investments, well, this one you get bitten by, and badly! I sold rabbits for $2 per pair in the pubs and my last consignment of 52 skins netted me a whole $2.50.

Shares, I had a false start many years ago. My dad sold a WW2 American army jeep for way under its value. I was determined to turn that money into what it should have been. So I signed up to CommSec when it launched. I took the Jeep money and I bought CSL, News Corp, and a couple of other stocks that I don't remember.

I turned $4k into 12k pretty quickly. Sold off, gave the money back to my dad and didn't return to stock investing for another 20 years. Which was a mistake, but life got in the way and I went overseas for 17 years.

How would you describe your strategy and your investment goals?

My strategy is to try and see where opportunities are evolving and allocate accordingly, whilst still being based in some “safe” stocks. My goal is to spend the next 10 years growing my retirement savings.

What products do you use to execute your strategy?

I use Superhero for buying stocks and some research. I read Livewire, of course! Also, Australian Mining, and any other financial/economic news I can get. Preferably not mainstream media because if they are jumping on the wagon, it is already too late.

Can you share your top 5 holdings in % terms and why you hold these positions?

SOL (ASX: SOL) - 12.5%
Probably obvious why, but for stability, a dividend, and with the merger of Brickworks, a little bit of growth also. My aim is to continue reinvesting profits from other growth shares into more shares like SOL, APA and SIG for steady retirement income.

Larvotto Resources (ASX: LRV) - 9.5%
Antimony is critical for a range of defence applications from night vision to munitions. There is a shortage and with Trump telling everyone to up their defence spending, the demand will be there for a long time to come. These guys have it, along with gold!

Develop Global (ASX: DVP) - 9%
This is the one if you are backing the jockey. If Bill Beament can't make something work in the mining space, no one can! He has a few feathers in his cap, with not only his own mines but a mining services company. His ace up his sleeve is large tax credits for the mines that he took over. Copper and other base metals will continue to be in demand and DVP is a good one to gain some of that exposure.

NexGen (ASX: NXG) - 6%
Large uranium deposit in Canada. It doesn't matter what politicians say, you cannot bend, or manipulate physics. The only way that we can achieve decarbonisation with wind and solar and still have heavy industry is with nuclear energy as the baseload. Forget the rhetoric, look up how many reactors are on the order books. Better still read up on Finland's experience. Uranium demand will continue to grow.

Orthocell (ASX: OCC) - 5%
These guys have a special product that is used instead of stitches to rejoin nerves that would otherwise leave scar tissue and potential loss of function/sensation. They have recent approvals in various countries around the world, including the U.S, and are just getting started on the rollout. I think this will be a game-changer for surgery all over the world.

What investment is on your watchlist?

A gold detector. I am going prospecting with my cousin in a couple of weeks and I know that if we even find a speck of gold, I'm going to catch the fever. So here's hoping we find nothing and I keep the minister of war and finance at bay!

What was your worst investment and what has been your best?

Best would be real estate. A block of farmland in the early 90s when drought and wool prices were bad. And also a couple of houses. Real estate, along with businesses we have owned, has set us up reasonably well. The businesses we’ve had have paid for the other investments, so whilst they weren't the best if we are talking about margins, they were, however, the most important. They gave us income to be able to get loans and cashflow to pay for things. I haven't had too many jobs on the payroll; I've always bought myself a job instead and started one from scratch as well.

Worst would be a medicinal cannabis startup. What can I say, that was meant to be a high flying business to get into, but I think they smoked the profits.

Can you share a personal passion or ambition you have for the future?

My personal passion is playing guitar. It's about the only thing that I have been consistent with for a decent length of time. My one ambition would be to enter politics, but I'm still not sure if it is an ambition or an impossible dream! We will see! 

If you are interested in sharing your investing journey, please send me a confidential enquiry via email to [email protected].

(All guests receive a limited edition Livewire cap)