Picksmith is an independent, subscription-based research publication focused on US-listed equities. Every Sunday we publish one in-depth company analysis — scored, sourced, and written for self-directed investors who want to do their own homework.
Matthew ChaplinFounder, Picksmith
My name is Matthew Chaplin. I’m 54, and I’ve been in and around the stock market for almost 30 years. Not as a pastime — as an obsession.
I focus exclusively on stocks — no options, no crypto, no shortcuts. I’m a medium to long-term investor, which means I’m looking for businesses worth holding, not trades worth flipping. I spent years inside the finance industry, watching how money actually moves rather than how textbooks say it should. These days I work in data analytics and process engineering — but investing never left. It’s still where a significant part of my thinking goes, and Picksmith is the natural home for that.
I never sat the CFA or any of the standard qualifications. What I have instead is three decades of skin in the game, a lot of hard-won lessons, and a deep respect for what the market can do to people who think they’ve figured it out.
That experience shapes everything about Picksmith.
For a long time I couldn’t find a service that was both honest and useful. Most were either too shallow — a ticker and a price target, no reasoning — or too wrapped up in jargon and models that looked impressive but didn’t help anyone actually make a decision.
I wanted something different. One idea, fully thought through, written by someone who’d been doing this long enough to know what matters and what doesn’t.
So I built it myself.
A few things I’ve come to believe after 30 years:
Most of the noise doesn’t matter. Markets are constantly generating information. Very little of it is signal. The hardest skill isn’t finding ideas — it’s ignoring the ones that aren’t worth your time.
Good businesses are worth waiting for. The best investments I’ve seen — and made — share a common thread: a durable edge, a clear reason to exist, and a valuation that gives you room to be wrong. That’s the framework Picksmith is built around.
You don’t need a finance degree to invest well. Some of the sharpest investors I’ve encountered learned by doing, not by studying. What matters is curiosity, patience, and a genuine interest in understanding how businesses actually work.
Every Sunday, one fully researched US stock idea lands in your inbox. Each edition covers a company I believe has a real edge — walking through the business model, the macro tailwinds behind it, the risks I’d want to know about before investing, and whether the valuation makes sense right now.
Behind that Sunday edition is a screening process that scans a broad universe of S&P 500 and liquid NASDAQ-listed companies for fundamental strength, business quality, and favourable macro tailwinds. The single highest-scoring name is published as the week’s idea, complete with a detailed thesis, risk factors, invalidation criteria, and transparent scoring methodology. If no company clears the bar in a given week, we publish a pass — we never force an idea just to fill a slot.
No sponsored picks. No affiliate relationships. No filler.
Just one idea, properly done.
If that sounds like what you’ve been looking for, subscribe here.
Picksmith is not a broker-dealer, investment adviser, financial planner, or trading signal service. We do not execute trades, manage portfolios, or provide personalised investment advice. Our content is general informational and educational research — opinion and analysis for learning purposes only.
You should always do your own research and, where appropriate, consult a licensed professional before making investment decisions. Past performance discussed in our research is not indicative of future results.
Questions, feedback, or press enquiries: support@picksmith.co or use the contact form.
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Picksmith provides information, analysis, opinions, and tools for general informational and educational purposes only. Nothing on Picksmith should be considered investment, financial, legal, tax, or other professional advice. Picksmith does not account for individual objectives, financial circumstances, risk tolerance, or personal needs. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Picksmith is not a registered broker-dealer, securities dealer, investment adviser, investment bank, or financial adviser.