Report for May 2007

May was a busy month with the FTSE100 rising 3%, most of our shares going up in value, and two stocks disappearing from our portfolio.

First the gains. African Platinum were finally bought out by Impala Platinum and we made a tidy profit of £2441 on the sale of our holding. This is the best return we have had so far. Reuters received a takeover bid from Thompsons and the share price rose 32% to a value only a little below its purchase price in 1999. BSkyB and Experian also did well to show double figure gains over the month. BHP Billiton, SpeedyHire and our China Units also did well in May.

But we made losses too. GlaxoSmithKline shares were hit by a report of adverse effects of one of their best-selling drugs in the US, and we followed our stop-loss policy and sold our entire stock, making a loss of £210. Island Oil and Gas fell sharply on the announcement that the company were issuing shares at a lower than market price in order to raise quick capital for further drilling, and the share value went down 32% in the month! [They have since recovered some of that drop with news of a gas-strike.]

So our Unit Value slipped marginally and now stands at 125.37 (i.e. 25% up overall).

Note that one member has taken out a small loan and has given notice that he wishes to sell the bulk of his Units soon to finance a property investment which he hopes will provide an even greater return!