Can Stuart Kirk double his money in eight years?

How does one double a sizeable portfolio in under a decade? The short answer is by taking more investment risk - and in today’s episode one of the FT’s most experienced investment columnists weighs up the potential risks. Stuart Kirk has set an ambitious financial goal to hit ahead of his 60th birthday — growing his portfolio from just over £500,000 today to £1mn by 2032. Will he be persuaded to take a punt on flashy US tech stocks, dabble in alternative investments such as private equity, go for gold, or even gamble with cryptocurrency? In the edited highlights from the FT Weekend Festival in London, host Claer Barrett invites Stuart to present his portfolio to the FT Money tent, before taking a grilling from inquisitive FT subscribers in the audience. For more tips on how to organise your money, sign up to Claer's email series 'Sort Your Financial Life Out With Claer Barrett' at FT.com/moneycourse Money Clinic will be back in 2025 with new episodes. If you would like to be a guest on a future episode of Money Clinic, email us at money@ft.com or send Claer a DM on social media — she’s @ClaerB on X, Instagram and TikTok. Want more? Read Stuart Kirk’s recent Skin in the game columns, When will emerging stocks finally emerge?, The best way to invest in gold, and more Listen to Claer and Stuart’s viral mini podcast episode, The Five Minute Investor from Money Clinic: What is a PE ratio? Check out Claer’s column, What’s the chancellor’s next move going to be with my pension? Listen to more episodes of Money Clinic, such as Investment Masterclass: The hunt for global growth stocks, Investment Masterclass: The case for investing in AI, and more. Presented by Claer Barrett. Produced by Tamara Kormornick. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner, with original music from Metaphor Music. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. Disclaimer: The Money Clinic podcast is a general discussion about financial topics and does not constitute an investment recommendation or individual financial advice.