How we make the Sterling Almanac
Every explainer here follows the same recipe. This page lays it out in full - where the numbers come from, how they're checked, how the plain-English is written, and the lines we will not cross - so you can judge for yourself how much to trust what you read.
What this is (and isn't)
The Sterling Almanac is a free, independent, plain-English reference for understanding shares and funds. It is education, not advice: it explains what a company does, what its numbers mean, and the honest ups and downs - so you can make your own decisions. It is not regulated by the FCA, it is not a personal recommendation, and it is not tailored to your circumstances.
There are no ads, no cookies, and no account to create. Nothing on the site is for sale except an optional tip if you find it useful.
Where the numbers come from
Every figure - price, market value, revenue, margins, dividend yield, the factor scores - is drawn from public company filings and live market data, refreshed on a schedule. Each page carries an ‘as of’ date so you can see how fresh the figures are; prices in particular can be delayed and go stale quickly.
We show ranges and context, never a single ‘fair value’ or forecast. Markets move, and a number that looks precise can be false comfort.
How we check the numbers
Data providers occasionally return a glitched value - a decimal in the wrong place, a figure in the wrong units. Before anything is published, every record passes an automated plausibility check: a value that falls outside the range a real company could have (a negative share price, a 300% dividend yield) is dropped rather than shown.
Separately, every number that appears inside an explainer's text is cross-checked against the underlying data, and any figure that contradicts the source is removed. The aim is simple: a blank is better than a wrong number.
How the explainers are written
The plain-English write-ups are produced with a mix of careful editing and AI assistance, grounded strictly in the public data and headlines above - never invented. Pages written with AI assistance say so openly.
Crucially, every explainer passes an automated language check before it can publish. That check scans for directive or promotional wording, and the whole site simply fails to build if a single page slips - so what you read stays on the education side of the line by construction, not by good intentions.
What we never do
We do not give ratings, scores out of ten, star grades, or ‘strong buy/sell’-style calls. We do not publish price targets or forecasts. We do not tell you what to do with your money, and we do not tailor anything to your personal situation. We take no commission or kickback from any broker, fund or platform, and we run no advertising.
Who's behind it, and how it's funded
The Almanac is built and maintained independently, in the UK, by an editorial desk that answers to no broker or advertiser. It is funded entirely by optional reader tips - which is exactly why it can afford to be honest and to sell you nothing.
Spotted a figure that looks wrong, or an explainer that reads oddly? That feedback is genuinely welcome - it is how the checks above keep improving.