by john gurnhill MY PORTFOLIO 27 June 2003 Just before you get to the 20 minute delayed FTSE 100 index quote, I would like to remind you of www.moneyam.com. After signing up you have access to streaming stock exchange data on any shares traded in London. You can in fact see YOUR own dealings go through, in the same way that I have watched several of mine be transacted. For the past few days, as at 27 June 2003, the FTSE 100 index has been shown in real time by that website. I do not know whether this will continue, as normally this is part of their premium services. So if that is what you want, enrol and get the data, both on the FTSE 100 and on any shares that you own or propose to buy. The market has risen by 25 % already since mid March (at that time one 'pundit' was forecasting a fall to 1800!) Whilst a fall could still occur, the market has a different feel to it at the moment. It is usually impossible to get in at the bottom anyway, as I recall from 1974, when the index at the time, FT 30, hit a low of 149 I think it was. I was not into shares as such then, having purchased unit trusts, but they did not double in a few weeks in the way that the index did. The fund managers did not have the confidence to get their cash into the market, and investors in the funds lost out on that rise. You will find that no one likes to call the top or bottom of the market. When the stock market has risen somewhat, then, surprise, surprise, up pop the experts, saying now could be a good time to buy. They should have said that in mid March 2003! I set up computer dealing with Charles Schwab at that time, having had all the shares in their accounts since they were called Sharelink, and tested in a minor way 'day trading' as it could be called. During the following month I made over �500...not enough to retire on I know, but better than nothing. It will enable me to obtain my personal car registration plate next year! To return to today: clicking the link HERE will give you access to 20 minutes delayed FTSE 100 data, and share prices for companies in that index. You can search for others also. But moneyam is your best bet. Enjoy, and I hope you find it a profitable exercise. My own portfolio, having lost 40 % in the 3 year bear market, has now recovered about half of that loss already. It is overweight in financial issues, which have done well recently, having obtained all the shares from the ex-building societies as they came to the market. When will there be more? I have the accounts with many of the remaining ones, and am gradually changing them year by year so that they are cash ISAs, which will mean that I earn about 4% tax free on that cash. The rates offerred in normal accounts are usually less anyway, and when tax is taken off the true rate received is below the rate of inflation. So it is not a good idea to keep too much cash in this type of account. Build up the funds over the years in different societies and their cash ISAs. After five years you would usually come out of the restriction that states that any shares on conversion to plcs go to charity. Click for FTSE 100 delayed 20 mins I will eventually list below for any interested viewers the shares that are in my portfolio. Some have been very profitable, particularly Orange when it was taken over by Mannesmann and then Vodafone. Since Orange returned in a restricted way to the London market it has not been quite so successful. So much depends on 3G technology. Some have been spectacular failures, examples being Thus, Edinburgh Tiger, which changed its policy and invested in split cap stocks...and look what happened to them ( at least 99% loss now), and also British Energy. One way to claw something back on these dramatic losses is to invest further in the companies at the present time, therefore averaging down the price paid. However, one has to watch the spread, the difference between the buying and selling prices, which varies considerably from share to share. This was something I was not so aware of until I watched the prices on moneyam. If the spread is small it shows a couple of things...firstly that the company is not about to go into liquidation, and secondly it is a popular and easily traded share...it will also be easier to move into profit after purchase. Because of that it should not be too difficult, as recovery comes, to limit the loss and even move into profit. Other shares such as Railtrack, Pace, Celltec and BSkyB would have given me huge profis if they had been sold at the peak of the dot com mania. I did sell sufficient of Railtrack, Pace and Freeserve at around that time to cover my initial purchase costs, so that their shares in the portfolio are at zero net cost. (c)john gurnhill |