About

Damien Fogg?

Hi, I’m Damien Fogg. I’m an ex-financial advisor and chartered building surveyor turned wealth coach, author and trader.

I started as a financial advisor and day trader before going into property. I used the money from my investments to retire early. I now spend my time sharing what I’ve learned with others to help them confidently manage their finances.

My goal is to simplify money and investments, so you can take control of your future - retiring richer and sooner.

Random Facts

I wrote my first book in 2018 in under 24 hours
I trained for the Commonwealth Games at Olympic Lifting - but got injured
My biggest trading win and loss are both six figures
I became “retire-capable” at 32 - but it turns out retiring at that age is lonely and boring
I’ve lived in; Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Thailand, UK, USA
I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up

From Employee to Retired in 12 Years

I’ve always been a finance and numbers geek, so I gravitated to business and investing early on. After university, I worked for a large high-street bank, which allowed me to qualify as a financial advisor. Unfortunately, selling insurance and three investment products to Grannies on the high street wasn’t what I hoped for.

I’d started day trading in University, and more through luck than judgment, I did alright out of it. The stress and time suck of day trading weren’t for me, though, so I moved towards property. I qualified as a Chartered Building Surveyor and worked for the Ministry of Defence and Homes England. At the same time, I was building up my own property portfolio of buy-to-lets.

In 2014, at 32, I had enough passive income from my properties and investments that I no longer needed a full-time job.

Work = completed it.

It turns out nobody wants to do nothing, so I decided to share the knowledge I’d picked up along the way to help others do the same. That started with helping people with their property investments and, over the years, has morphed into a more holistic wealth management consultancy.

I love what I do and have no intention of ever stopping. I still trade my own account, and one day, I might consider setting up a fund, but that’s for the next stage of my life. I’m enjoying the freedom to work with whoever I want.

1982-2003

Born on the Wirral - the greatest place on earth - I started selling sweets while I was in school. I had an infinite profit margin, as my folks owned a sandwich shop at one point, so I didn’t pay for the stock.

Despite being accepted into NYU and Cambridge to read law, I chickened out and went through clearing to John Moores University in Liverpool to study Business and Finance. As soon as I hit 18 I started binary trading (it was not a success, lol)

My post-Uni gap year included qualifying as a personal trainer, getting my black belt in Goju-Ryu karate, becoming a Swedish masseur, and moving to California to teach snowboarding.
2003-2009

When I finally decided to grow up a little bit, I worked at HSBC for a stint and in the family marketing business. I was day trading fairly heavily at the time, thanks to a module at University on futures trading. I did well, but it was hard work, lonely and very stressful.

Like any good finance geek, I had been diversifying my investments at that point, so I was building up a property portfolio simultaneously.

In 2009, I returned to John Moores to get a master’s degree in Building Surveying.
2009-2014

I started working as a local estate agent at Uni, and the plan was to become a residential valuer and building surveyor after graduation. Unfortunately, the 2009 Great Financial Crash scuppered that plan. Property and the stock market crashed, and nobody was hiring graduate surveyors. I ended up the only person on my course to get a job in the industry by working for the MoD.

I worked for a few Government agencies, got qualified, and became an RICS Building Surveyor - then almost instantly quit. I was using my new-found knowledge to buy houses and do them up - some I’d keep, some I’d sell. That led me to build a reasonable-sized portfolio that covered all my expenses. I nearly bought some Bitcoin, but decided I’d probably missed the boat as it was now $150 (it was $10 when I first heard about it).
2014-2020

It turns out that doing nothing while everyone else is working is dull. Also, full transparency: While I never had to work again, I wasn’t exactly baller territory with my passive income either. It made sense to me to start sharing my knowledge - for a fee - and helping others get into property investing.

I ended up buying properties in the US, too, which was fun, and I started helping property investors diversify away from just property as an investment.

I finally got into Bitcoin at around $280, then watched it drop to $160 and felt like an idiot. It’s worked out since, though.
2020-2023

This was a full-circle moment, bringing us back to more holistic financial planning. COVID and the entertainment in the markets highlighted to even more clients that investing in just one asset wasn’t the best plan. I also started working with businesses, helping them become more financially efficient and helping business owners develop a plan for their investments.
2024 & beyond

Kaizen + Ikigai = Satisfied Damien

I want to do what I love and am good at: providing a service that the world needs and is willing to pay for.

Helping people to create wealth for themselves and future generations seems to fit the bill.

I also want to improve in all aspects of my life by a small amount each week (each day sounds tiring).