But much of the return will also be in the form of lots of fiddly dividend cheques for just a few pounds and pence, a pain to cash and easily lost (although it is normally possible to have dividends paid straight into your bank account).Furthermore those profits could be vulnerable. The stock market is close to its all-time high and many City sages reckon it is heading for a fall. Dealing costs could easily take a third of this.
The problem will have been experienced by many small investors who have acquired little parcels of shares in a range of privatisations over the past decade.Selling costs also look set to be an annoyance for the millions of people promised free share handouts from building societies, the first of which is due at the end of August when a million-plus National & Provincial members get free Abbey National shares as part of thetakeover of the society.Someone who has bought a few shares in a range of privatisations could easily be sitting on a tidy sum of thousands of pounds overall and good profits on the money they put in. Most stockbrokers will charge at least pounds 10 for selling British Energy shares, and in many cases more.
If, say, you are allocated 300 shares – the minimum amount you could apply for – and the shares go to a healthy premium of 10 per cent, investors might have made just pounds 30 profit. But even if British Energy comes up trumps when dealings in its shares start tomorrow, here is the sting. Unless you have a lot of shares, selling them may well take a big chunk of any gains. Phone Independent Insurance on 01732 865211.Insurer Norwich Union has launched a policy, costing pounds 7.95 a month, which covers the breakdown of electrical appliances Phone 0800 888 777..
Instant profits for investors have become part of privatisation folklore. Phone 0800 663322 for a copy.
Classic car owners are being offered a free guide to insurance, which can be cheaper than expected because annual mileage is low. Stressful, confusing and time-consuming – that’s what one in two homebuyers says about arranging a mortgage, according to Legal & General L&G has a free 24-page booklet called The Mortgage Maze. If victims lose their cases, they may be liable for the other sides’ costs and fees may have to be paid for additional services, such as specialist reports by doctors or the police. Victims are normally asked to buy insurance to cover these possibilities and the ASA recognises that law firms are required to explain potential liabilities to clients before a no-win, no-fee agreement is made. But the authority says that unless clients pay nothing if they lose, ads carrying no-win, no-fee claims should be explained. The Advertising Standards Authority has warned law firms advertising no-win, no-fee services to accident victims to make clear that such services may still involve costs for taking legal action.
Ms Boyle says: “There might be signatures in there you can’t recognise. Auction houses, because they see so many of them, do start to recognise people’s handwriting. Stalin’s signature, for example, doesn’t look anything like ‘Stalin’.”o Contacts: Frasers 0171 836 9325; Christie’s 0171 581 7611.. Ms Boyle says: “Autograph hunting has been standard practice for hundreds of years – it’s certainly something the Victorians did.”If you think you may have some signatures worth selling, the first step is to take them to an auction house and get them valued. Christie’s Mr Moon says: “Presley is collectable, but he’s not in quite the same league as the Beatles.
