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<td align="RIGHT"><b><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF">Business zone </font></b></td>
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<td colspan="2"><font color="#FFFFFF" size="1"><b><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF">Business
zone - E: <a href="mailto:kensington@myvillage.co.uk">kensington@myvillage.co.uk</a></font></b></font></td>
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<td colspan="2"><b><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF"><a name="sid"></a>Should
Sid Stay Small </font></b><font size="1" color="#FFFFFF">- 13/03/00</font></td>
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<p><font size="1" color="#000000">It all began as an unlikely dream.
But when Mrs Thatcher promised to create a nation of small shareholders,
did she imagine the events which have actually unfolded? </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">For a long time, life was sweet
for `Sid', the famous small investor invented by advertising campaigns
and persuaded to buy various privatisation issues for a wealthy
old age. But look how these `blue chip' shares performed in the
last 18 months. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">BT, harassed by City critics, has
lost 65% of its value in the rout of the telecoms. British Steel,
now Corus, had to cut thousands of jobs to halt a share price plunge.
British Energy, once proudly �7-plus a share, collapsed to barely
�1.70p. With the London stock market probably on course to deliver
two years of stomach-churning falls, Sid is having a rapid rethink.
</font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">ProShare, which represents the small
investor, says that 25% of the adult population - about 12 million
people - have become shareholders. They can't walk out now with
their tails between their legs. There are 10,000 investment clubs
too, they average 14 members per club, which means 140,000 people
are still playing the market. Their total holding, worth �43 million,
rose 9.8% last year. The clubs, I fancy, are influencing a subtle
change of tack among small investors. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">Big companies are losing appeal.
Vodafone, once Britain's largest company, has halved in value in
a year. Marks & Spencer, the dream defensive stock, is down more
than 50% since its sufferings began. An obvious question arises:
if the top shares are unreliable, is this the time to `fish for
tiddlers'? A change of sentiment is in the air. At weekend share
exhibitions in London, smaller companies pitch for the small investor.
New tipsheets, with annual subs from �70 to �200 plus, hunt the
minnows that will be tomorrow's giants. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">Plenty of small company shares,
as they are officially known, have had an interesting time lately,
often surging 30 - 50p up or down each day. The rockier the market
gets, the more apparent this trend becomes. Says Jason Hollands
at discount broker best invest: </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">``In this economic climate, small
companies tend to do well. They are often interest rate-sensitive,
because they are heavily borrowed, and as rates come down profits
go up. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">``Simultaneously, falling interest
rates cause small investors to flush out deposit accounts and turn
more aggressive. When the general market goes nowhere - as we have
had for the last couple of years - people who fancy themselves as
real stockpickers try to find companies with real attractions. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">``When the market booms, everybody
follows everybody else into sexy sectors.'' </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">Six years ago, Andrew Griffiths
sensed that today's dilemma for investors was bond to happen one
day. He chucked up his job as a City reporter in Fleet Street, and
launched an investment newsletter to find the minnows of promise.
Today, he has three newsletters, a staff of 12 and is turning over
�800,000 a year. He reckons that there are two million investors
dabbling in the market. </font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">``Small company shares can multiply
several times over quite quickly,'' he says. ``Jim Slater had a
famous quotation: `Elephants don't gallop'. Huge companies turning
over �1 billion a year find it hard to double in size. Tiddlers
turning over �1 million a year can quadruple turnover if well-run.''
</font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">Griffiths says one other factor
boosts interest in small companies: the Internet takes quality research
into people's homes as they ponder investment decisions. How do
you go find the right small companies to invest in? Remember the
City regards a company capitalised at �300m as small. But punters
dabble in companies worth �10 or �20m on the Alternative Investment
Market (AIM), quoted at the bottom of the stock market prices page.
</font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">However fashionable they might become,
small companies should never be more than a small part - say 5-10%
- of a portfolio for experienced investors. They are too risky,
and too prone to sudden squalls. The less risky method is to find
funds specialising in the sector. Old Mutual UK Select Smaller Companies
is just launching, but The Aim Trust, managed by Friends Ivory &
Sime, has a good record, and Artemis UK Smaller Companies is keen
to make a mark. March also brings the launch of the ABN Amro UK
Select Opportunities Trust, with star fund manager Nigel Thomas.
</font></p>
<p><font size="1" color="#000000">When it comes to finding individual
companies, investors almost need inside expertise to win. Yeoman
Group turned �1,000 into �9,500 last year, but most people didn't
notice until that remarkable figure emerged. More Yeomans, waiting
to be discovered, are out there in 2001. But picking winners is
harder for Sid from now on. </font></p>
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