Shropshire Chamber Investment Club
Welcome to the Shropshire Chamber Investment Club. The Investment Club has been effective since November 2010 and as far as we know is the only investment club to operate within a Chamber of Commerce. The Investment Club provides a great opportunity for Members of the Chamber to speculate in the stock market whilst at the same time have some fun and hopefully see their investment appreciate in value.
Contributing members are encouraged to propose shares for purchase, these recommendations are reviewed at our monthly Committee meeting, where a decision on whether to purchase will be made. Members subscribe an initial investment of £100 followed by £32 per month (includes admin fee), therefore the first payment by cheque is £132 followed up by a monthly standing order of £32
At our inaugural meeting in October 2010 an Investment Committee of eight was elected, we meet monthly where proposals are discussed in detail and decisions on investment taken. Chamber Members have the opportunity to attend quarterly meetings on the first Friday in February, May, August and at the AGM in November where a full update on investments by the committee will be given.
In order to protect our members interests as much as possible the Investment Committee have a clear strategy on investments.
- 50% of the portfolio to be held in FTSE 100/Blue Chip companies that look to give both share appreciation and a respectable dividend.
- 30% invested in FTSE and AIM (Alternative Investment Market) listed companies that categorised as medium risk.
- 20% of speculative investments where significant share price appreciation is the goal. Typically companies that are in energy exploration or pharmaceutical developments.
- Spread of investments over a number of sectors e.g. Retail, Oil & Gas, Banking, Telecoms & Media, Pharmaceutical and Freight etc.
Members are advised immediately an Investment is made, this gives them the opportunity to make a personal purchase of these shares if they so wish.
With over 750 member companies within Shropshire Chamber we have a wealth of business knowledge and expertise. Contributing members will have specific knowledge within their sector that gives them the ideal opportunity to propose investments ahead of the game.
Chamber Members that are keen to take an interest in the stock market and wish to join the Investment Club should contact Teresa Rowe on 01952 208218 or t.rowe@shropshire-chamber.co.uk
As a Chamber Member the Investment Committee look forward to you attending our quarterly meetings and joining this unique Investment Club.
Gerald O’Brien (Chairman of Investment Committee)
To join the club click here
Should members wish to propose an investment click here
See you at the Members Meeting on 18th May 2012
Our next quarterly Members Meeting will be held at Trevithick House, Stafford Park on Friday 18th May at 8.30am. During the meeting the Investment Committee will give an update on current investments and will also be on hand to network and answer questions with attendees. All Chamber Members are invited to attend where they will have the opportunity to present their business during a 60 second speed networking session whilst enjoying a light breakfast. Existing Investment Club members are encouraged to bring along Chamber colleagues for an insight into our investments and the stock market. We look forward to seeing you there on 18th May.
Stocks & Shares Fantasy Competition
At the Members Meeting on 18th May the winner of the recent “Fantasy Competition” (end 27th April) will be announced and presented with the prizes of
Ÿ Four Ball Round of Golf at Great Hay kindly donated by Telford Hotel & Golf Resort
Ÿ Weekend use of a Lexus 450h kindly donated by Lexus Wolverhampton
With over 60 entrants this was the most successful competition to date with some of the shares selected showing gains of over 30% during the 3 month period. Our next competition will run from Friday 3rd August to 26th October so get ready with your hot tip and look out for the competition entry form.
Investment Club Portfolio reaches £20,000
In the 18 month since the formation of the Investment Club nearly 40 trades in buying and selling of shares has taken place. Currently we hold shares within 32 Companies over a diverse range of sectors including Retail, Oil & Gas exploration, Pharmaceuticals, Finance and Building & Construction.
In line with our investment strategy, the Investment Committee constantly review the portfolio and proposals from members for future investment. Our latest investments include three companies that are closely linked to the Building and Construction sector, St Modwen, Travis Perkins and Bellway.
Bellway is one of the UK's leading housebuilders. Many of the group's developments are situated on brown field land, areas earmarked by the Government for urban renewal. The Newcastle-based group nearly doubled half yearly profit to £40.6m and turnover climbed to £458.6m With the Government strategy to increase affordable housing Bellway are seen as a good prospect.
St Modwen, are property development and regeneration specialists based in Birmingham and are currently involved in developments at RAF Uxbridge, Wolverhampton, Longbridge and Hednesford. Nearer to home St Modwen are involved in the Sundorne Sports Centre and will be responsible for developing the site in Newport for a new Sainsburys and 500 houses. From a loss maker in 2007 and 2008 St Modwen are now positive and 2011 profits increased by over 30% to £50m. With forecasted performance on a positive trend, St Modwen were seen as a good buy and complimented the Bellway purchase in this sector.
Travis Perkins is one of the UK's leading building materials supplier under various banners such as Travis Perkins, Keyline, City Plumbing, CCF, Wickes and Benchmarx. The group also earns revenue through the sale and hire of tools. Sales revenue over the last 4 years has increased to nearly £5bn and profits to £270m, forecasts for 2012/13 look good. With share prices for direct competitors in the supply sector such as Wolseley at the high end TP were seen as a good buy.
These three recent share purchases together with our current holding of Morgan Sindall and Barratt Developments give us a good spread in a building sector that is forecasted to grow over next few years.
Winners and Losers
As with any investment there is always an element of risk, consistent with other investment clubs we have our own winners and losers. Where an opportunity to take a profit has existed then our strategy of setting a sell policy has worked in our favour with:
Ÿ Fortune Oil, a high risk purchase that secured a 75% profit
Ÿ ITV, over the year we purchased twice and then sold them all to make 45% profit
Ÿ GKN, as the share price reached 225p we decided to sell giving 20% gain
To date we have not sold a share stock at a loss, where we have a deficit then the decision has been taken to “hold our nerve and wait” for the stock to recover. Current losers with significant shortfall are:
Ÿ Oxford BioMedica
Ÿ Aurelian Oil & Gas
Ÿ Nighthawk Energy
Ÿ Mothercare
Ÿ Lloyds Banking Group
Ÿ Thomas Cook
The first three, Oxford, Aurelian and Nighthawk were purchased within the “high risk, long shot” category of our strategy and it was always acknowledged that they would fluctuate. A positive oil field find or cancer controlling breakthrough would see the share price appreciate significantly. Thomas Cook was purchased when the group announced problems and shares were on the slide, time should see the price recover and appreciate. Mothercare and Lloyds are a disappointment as they were two of the initial purchases for our investment club. As both of these companies restructure and the share price improves we plan to sell at a price close to the initial purchase to minimise loss.
How to start Trading Shares by yourself.
A number of members have requested information on how to trade shares themselves. Your Investment Club trades via two accounts Barclays and The Share Centre. For the budding investor the easiest way is via The Share Centre, so here is the process you may wish to follow. Happy trading.!
You can open the account online by visiting http://www.share.com%20/%20http:/www.share.com/ and following the link on the home page to 'Open Account.' Alternatively, they can post application forms to you upon request.
