“Yes, indeed, we had a market survey done which produced some surprising results. He (and it is a he) is 46-years-old, a professional person with a personal portfolio of around £250,000”. I express shock – I would have assumed someone with 50k -100k. “So were we, but that figure includes his pension provisions as well, but not for example a property under an existing mortgage. And the width of the demographic is huge, including someone who is merely investing long-term for his pension, as well as a trader playing the foreign exchanges on two-bid spreads with a five-second time horizon.” (Some danger of losing me here.)
“And this reader would be very sophisticated indeed, dealing in exchange-traded funds, spread bets, covered warrants, options and derivatives. Others would include those disappointed with their current financial advice, those who are determined to take things into their own hands and consequently turn to us for advice. Currently fourteen thousand of these a week are lining up on a Thursday morning. But all of our Plays of the Week are based on a 12-24 month projection, and carry a warning that any advice (“stock calls”) from us includes a strong recommendation to initiate 20% standard stop loss, so they are covered in the event of a sudden falling market.”
For those interested, the stocks recommended by Shares which I spotted in their two recent “gold” issues, saw an average increase of about 20% in a 10-12 week window this autumn, are:
Ariana Resources Plc Ord 1p [AAU.ISE]
Chaarat Gold Holdings Ltd (DI) [CGH.ISE]
European Goldfields Ltd Common Stk [EGU.ISE]
Kalahari Minerals Plc Ord Shares of 1p [KAH.ISE]
Medusa Mining Ltd Ord NPV (DI) [MML.ISE]
Nyota Minerals Ltd Ord Shs NPV [NYO.ISE]
My faith in the financial services industry has been badly shaken many times in the past, and it was indeed my disenchantment with recent wealth-management advice that drove me, and my small under-mattress horde, out into the unknown snowy wastes of international markets. Cold winds can blow there on practically a daily basis and many times one is left overnight with severe market frostbite. But I am pleased to report now from absolutely personal experience that there is a haven out there, to be treated with caution of course, but one that can provide the little man (comme moi) with storm-port warmth, and its nomenclature is Shares. Available at all good newsstands. Even in Catford.
Visit Shares Magazine website.
Written and illustrated by Paul Joyce.
