SHARE CLUB: The six original members of the Dublin Investment Share Club (DISC) have lost more than 30 per cent of their investment so far. Each person has put in about €1,905 (£1,500), at a rate of €63.50 per month, writes Clare O'Dea
Secretary of the club, Mr Kevin Hughes, says the DISC investors do not take themselves too seriously.
"It is social first and investment second, otherwise it becomes just like a business."
The strategy for 2002 is to sit tight and see what happens. "We're waiting for a real upturn, not just a short-term one."
DISC had some success last year; their three best performers were Ryanair, Irish Life and Permanent (IL&P) and Anglo Irish Bank. The club has about 350 shares in Ryanair and 250 in IL&P.
Unfortunately Mr Hughes has to report some losses.
"On the downside, we had earlier put a lot of money in Provident Resources and we are 92 per cent down on that. We still have those shares and we're hoping they'll come back someday.
"We also bought in very high on Horizon Technologies at $4.25 [€4.77\] and they're down around $0.60 now. Those were our two biggest purchases in the last couple of years, we spent £2,500 [€3,174\] to £3,000 on each."
DISC has bought and traded shares and made a few pounds from Bula, Waterford Wedgewood and Eircom. The club meets once a month.
"Whenever we have sufficient funds we check out who's looking good and make our decision."
The group started out without much knowledge of terminology, how markets work and where to get information on companies.
"We know a lot more now. It's a learning curve and you gain confidence," says Mr Hughes.
