Portfolio
Note of resolution
Nephew Wilde
In these inflationary times there is little incentive for anyone to adopt the traditional methods of saving.
Moreover the immediate prospect of shortages of luxury and other goods has lent itself to an all time record spending spree. In this climate it is increasingly difficult
to give advice about investments, whether in equities or fixedinterest stocks.
At this point I should make a confession which exacerbates my present worries about world money markets. In a despondent frame of mind last week I decided to chance my luck on the gaming tables. Now I know from bitter experience that I am a bad gambler whose emotions all too often overrule common sense and so, as a safeguard, I never enter a gaming club with more than a few pounds in my pocket. Last week, however, with a bulging wallet holding the bulk of the proceeds from the liquidation of my portfolio I broke this golden rule. With depressing rapidity I watched as my chips almost uncontrollably vanished away.
Because of this stroke of misfortune Christmas was frugally spent and I adopted living stan dards more to suit the current mood of austerity than the former life style of affluence to which I
am accustomed. The result was that I adopted a series of resolu
tions which were implemented forthwith. Mostly these fell into the general wine, women and song category. However, I was also careful to include a ban on stock market dealing.
I do consider though that the market, particularly in sectors such as property, will remain weak and provide little scope for an investor like myself. Also banned, naturally enough, are all other forms of gambling. Thus with the few funds salvaged from stock market activity over the last eighteen months and fruitless attempts to profit from roulette, I have been looking at Government stocks. Treasury 6! per cent appears to suit my purposes, offering a redemption yield of just under 12 per cent at 85i.
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