Member Info for lordloadsoflolly

Fela96 - I don’t see how patents/IP can possibly be a drag on innovation. If you led a biotech company that had just created a potential new wonder drug, wouldn’t you want to protect if from the thieving hands of the Chinese, for example? If the answer’s no, I’d suggest you’d maybe feel more comfortable living there. I’m still not totally convinced you’re not an AI bot BTW. But it’s Sunday & I’m feeling charitable, so let’s not go there for now.

Fela96 - I totally believe you “genuinely have no clue what all the animosity is about” And therein lies the problem my friend.

Baf3 - I’m not a trader and I have no agenda. Oh, and sorry but I don’t respond to requests for homework, as I left school many years ago.

That's fine by me! I just chip in now & again to try to offer a bit of balance, when I think other posters risk getting carried away. So all good. Afterall, everyone's fully entitled to their views - life would be pretty boring otherwise!

And no, I've no intention of providing any details of my buys & sells, for reasons already given. All I can say is I'm not a trader with TEK (or most other other shares, come to that). And if you don't believe that, you probably wouldn't have believed any information provided about my buys & sells either!

Baf3 & TopCatz -sorry, posted that last explanation to the wrong board. So ignore.

Baf3 & TopCatz - I'm quite happy for you to carry on dreaming up conspiracy theories. If you think I'm a trader, that's fine (though incorrect). I've a decent stake in Opti, for which I paid a far higher average price than today's (even with the bounce). But I continue to hold this & PBX because a) I think Probiotix will re-rate, assuming SOH does actually migrate it to AIM. b) I think Sweetbiotix could be a game changer, though it's still a big gamble at this stage (as SOH himself all but admitted in today's RNS). There you go. That's all the info you're getting from me!

TopCatz - these boards are full of posters telling us they've just topped up or sold out completely. Nobody sane takes them at face value. So there's zero point in adding mine into the mix. Anyhow AFAIC, it's none of anyone's business!

Baf3 - as I've never publicised my TEK buys & sells, you've no idea what price I paid for either. Or when I've bought & sold.

Tambo210 - I'd say only indirectly inflation led. The UK inflation rate has very little bearing on SMT, as its holdings are heavily US-skewed. However, news of the latest larger-than-expected drop in UK inflation means the market expects future BOE rate hikes might now be smaller / fewer. This has led to Sterling falling against the Dollar which automatically boosts SMT's value.

Baf3 - I agree with that. All I'm saying is the market currently doesn't see how investors are going to crystallise value in TEK's holdings. Hence the disconnect between sum-of-the-parts NAV and TEK's market cap. TopCatz - you illustrate perfectly the point I'm making. TEK's share price was around 3.5 times its current level when BELL breached the £1.20 mark in Jan 22. But investors derived no long term benefit from this (unless they exited PDQ). By Jan 23, TEK's share price was back below 20p. And it's continued to sink almost ever since. Because TEK took no money off the table when the sun was shining. Same with LUCY. And doubtless, it'll be same old same old with Microsalt too.

Baf3 - you can come up with sum-of-the-part valuations 'til you're blue in the face. Fact remains, there's currently no obvious way for investors to unlock any of that value. IPO's don't cut it. Despite the two TEK's already had, its share price has plummeted. The market simply discounts accordingly, whether you like it or not.

Dontshootme - you highlight an important negative with unit trusts. Forward pricing. Where else are you asked to buy & sell a product without knowing the price beforehand? It's nuts. That and the fact they're open ended is why I generally avoid them like the plague.

Draye - Dream on. Nobody knows anything. It's a volatile share. That's it.

Dontshootme - I doubt there's been a sufficient policy shift within SMT since Anderson left to create such a price drop. So if the move is down to him leaving, it's probably based more on investor apprehension than hard facts. I wouldn't put it past Anderson to have timed his departure around what he perceived as the fund's likely high point. After all, no-one would want to work that many years for an outfit, build up an impressive reputation, then end up leaving under a cloud.

Walp - always slightly chicken & egg with the media. Do doomsters talk a share price down. Or does a falling share price talk to the doomsters? Anyhow, for the moment, SMT seems slightly less prone to violent drops on potentially bad news. Which in itself is progress! Don't think US interest rates have peaked just yet. So it's probably going to take even longer elsewhere (especially here in the UK). But at least it looks like we're NEARING the end of the rises. Which in itself should benefit the type of companies SMT holds.

Chumba - you're welcome - glad you found it useful! Everyone's risk profile & investment timeframe is different, so there's never a "one size fits all" solution. But if you've money invested towards the "racier" end of the spectrum (which SMT undoubtedly is!), it might make sense to counter-balance this - at least to an extent - with a boring but predictable savings vehicle. High yielding shares are another option, but as I said just now, they too carry higher risks.

Realist1 & Dontshootme - both correct (in terms of yield). However, the share price of both has dropped over the last 12 months. The picture isn't much rosier over the past 5 years either (barring the odd blip). So unless you were lucky/clever enough to time it right, you could still have made relatively little from either. That's not to say either should be dismissed. Just that the yield isn't the whole story. Whereas with a plain vanilla, no-notice base rate linked savings account, you know exactly what you're getting (unless the savings institution goes bust & you've more than £85K invested of course!). And you can always ditch it again if base rates become less attractive (something many mortgage holders can only dream of right now!)

Chumba - there are better bonds available than that - even Nationwide's latest one offers 5.1%. But that's easily beaten elsewhere, assuming you're prepared to tie your money up for a year or more. Always good to spread capital across different asset classes to lower your overall risk. Though if you're going for bonds and would prefer instant access, I'd keep your eyes open for something linked to UK base rate. At least that way you know where you stand. Otherwise the dodgy banks & building societies can (& frequently do) refuse to pass on every rate increase. I opened accounts with Hanley Economic Building Society recently, whose interest rate tracks the base rate exactly (& indefinitely). Could be a handy hedge against prolonged high UK interest rates. Though even then, likely to lose you money in real terms. Sadly, they very quickly closed that particular account to new applicants, but others may spring up.

Agricore - Guident & Microsalt aren't listed, so I'd argue their valuations are much less robust (& volatile). A discount to NAV is commonplace currently, particularly with the type of shares TEK holds. Whilst this seems excessive in TEK's case right now and could well narrow, that's not a given. Just cos something looks cheap, doesn;t mean it won't get even "cheaper".