By no means having a "pop" at your dad - but as you say - a classic example of people just blindly following tips/online forums/newspaper tipsters without actually looking at the bigger picture.
Seen 100's of people over the years that have done this. "most" people (not everyone) would be better off with a simple portfolio of funds/unit trusts spread across a sensible attitude to risk in a balanced portfolio of assets/geographical range.
I get people want to do better - but most people just lump on the first thing they see on the news (Bitcoin/Tesla/Lloyds/Zoom to name but a few recently) and end up getting burned badly.
Did a review with my longest standing client and we looked back over the 18 years I've managed her pension fund - average return (after charges) 7.8% per year, for 18 years. Solid, if "unexciting" spread of funds, but who wouldn't take that over 18 years.
Yeah I'm thinking of doing this. Less stress and you get a load of experts managing it effectively.
Only time I'm thinking of investing in a company directly going forwards is exceptional circumstances