Tools of the trade: Haig Bathgate's key influences

Haig Bathgate is chief investment officer at Turcan Connell, where he is responsible for its investment strategy and research process. He joined the firm in 1997 as a trainee investment manager and rose swiftly through the ranks, before being promoted to CIO in 2010.

Jeff Randall at Sky News

TV presenter and Daily Telegraph contributor Jeff Randall is a favourite of Bathgate’s simply because ‘he is one of the guys that gets it’. 

Bathgate explains: ‘Rather than trying to sensationalise items to make them exciting from an average man in the street’s perspective, he actually tries to look at both sides of the story, unlike some of the more mainstream channels.

‘The one thing I would say is that the general quality of economics and financial market coverage is pretty poor when you compare it to somewhere like the US – so having something that you can rely on is very important.’

Official sources

Bathgate also likes to get his information straight from the horse’s mouth.

‘There is so much noise in the media, it makes sense to read the official releases from agencies and central banks. While these sources are unlikely to be the most exciting reads, the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank (ECB) and Bank of England provide invaluable information without the spin.

‘In particular, releases from the ECB and Bank of England are of particular use at the moment and often give you very different perspectives than those quoted in the media.

‘There’s so much misinformation about Europe because the politicians only care about the electorate that put them there so there’s a spin on it. The official sources are incredibly insightful and there’s no spin on it.’