Terry Smith became a stockbroker with W. Greenwell & Co in 1984 and was the top-rated bank analyst in London from 1984 to 1989. In 1990 he became head of UK company research at UBS Phillips & Drew, a position from which he was dismissed in 1992 following the publication of his bestselling book Accounting for Growth.

He went on to build two broking businesses, Collins Stewart and Tullett Prebon, from where he retired in 2014 to concentrate on his new fund management venture, Fundsmith. His latest book, Investing for Growth, contains a collection of his essays and letters revealing the wisdom and strategy behind his legendary investing success.