Macquarie Brokers/Bankers Ain't all that

[YOUNG_TRADER]

Just goes to show what I always believed, the peeps over at Macquarie ain't all that!
Wonder if Mr Conlan still has a job! lol

Nurse's win is stock-in-trade
By ANTHONY BLACK
25jun06

ANNIE Toleman has won the Sunday Herald Sun's fifth sharemarket game.

Mrs Toleman beat cricket writer Keith Stackpole, stockbroker Sean Conlan, business woman April Bell and Olympic gold medallist Claire Mitchell-Taverner.
Each contestant was allocated a theoretical $10,000 to buy $2000 worth of shares in five companies. They could hold their portfolio or buy and sell two stocks each week.

Mrs Toleman turned $10,000 into $12,327 for a return of 23.27 per cent. Keith Stackpole finished second on $9113. Sean Conlan was third on $9057. April Bell finished fourth on $8956 and Claire Mitchell-Taverner was fifth with $8284.

Mrs Toleman lived up to expectations when the Sunday Herald Sun introduced the Prahran nurse on January 29 as an experienced sharemarket investor who should not be underestimated by her competitors.


Apart from Mr Conlan briefly holding the lead, Mrs Toleman led from start to finish.

"My plan was to get to the front and to stay there through homework," Mrs Toleman said.

"I examined industry trends, read analysts' reports and tried to find value by looking at stock prices daily.

"Gold was rising during the game so I bought Reed Resources, which proved to be a good move. I bought oil stocks on top of a strong crude oil price. I did a lot of work and was up to speed with what was happening in the sharemarket."

Mrs Toleman bought 7217 shares in Reed Resources for $1732 on February 19. It was a shrewd buy, as her Reed Resources shares were worth $4042 on Friday.

Another successful buy was Marathon Resources, a uranium, copper and gold explorer, on March 12. Her initial $2101 investment in Marathon was sold for $3631 less than a month later for a return of almost 73 per cent.

Mrs Toleman sold under-performing stocks and locked in profits on good performers.

The right stocks in a soaring sharemarket catapulted Mrs Toleman's total to $16,676 on May 14. At that time, Mr Conlan was second on $13,421.

What followed was a sharemarket correction that spared no player. Share prices tumbled and Mrs Toleman's portfolio had fallen to $12,714 two weeks ago.

"I took the view that everyone's portfolio was going to suffer, as the correction was pretty much across the board," she said.

Mrs Toleman said she did not expect to win given "I was up against a Macquarie Equities stockbroker".

"I read a lot of sharemarket material as I subscribe to a few services offered by brokers," she said.

"No amount of homework will be wasted on sharemarket investing. But you also have to have a bit of luck. I enjoyed the game and the following it received each week."

Mr Conlan started favourite, but faded with the sharemarket correction.

He said Mrs Toleman was an impressive investor who was rewarded for her stock selection in challenging trading conditions.

"I was over-exposed to the gold sector as the price of bullion collapsed in the past few weeks," he said.

A new share game with five new contestants will start next week.

 

[The Mint Man]

good on her