Is it the right time to pull out?

Buratino

Hi guys,
My bro in law has an investment with BOI from 2007, in total he has put in 12,5 K (i know not much but still) . He is saying that the money is down now to around 9K, (been down to 8.5 at beginning of the year, then up to 9.5, now gone down to 9). Dont know why he put in money to start with as he doesnt have a clue in investments (same as me btw). But the question is ... is it time to get the 9 K before it drops down even further? He cant see it getting going back to 12,5 in the next 2 years the way the economy is still going.
What do you think?

ixus

It's hard to give a decent answer without knowing what the capital was used to invest in? Equties (Irish, European, Emerging Market etc)? Commodities? Bonds?

But, generally, I'd say take it out. There's already been a 25%+ drawdown and it's extremely difficult to make any money in these markets. Very choppy.

Buratino

Hi Ixus, thanks for your reply. He is saying that they are Everegreen and Innovator, both to do with renewable energy, and he thinks they are both European/UK. Its hard to know as you say but at this stage he has already lost 3.5K which means he'll never see it again, thou if he stays in it could be another 3-4 years before he gets back to sum he has invested. Hard to know I suppose. If all went back as sudden as it fell apart, but miracle wont happen.

Wildrover666

I hate to be the bearer of bad news and certainly hope that the following is not the case....

That being said; It would appear to that opposed to losing 25%, your brothers portfolio is almost valueless, at present. A quick ticker look-up, summary and viewing of charts dating back to August 2007 revealed:

Innovative: INIV.PK ..? Price Per Share: $0.0014. Volume: Nil.

Evergreen: This would appear to be either;

Evergreen Solar (ESLR). PPS: $0.65. Volume: 1.6+ M. During August 2007 this stock was trading and in and around $16 - 17

--or--

Evergreen Energy (EEE). PPS: $1.60. Volume: 600k ish. During August 2007 you'd be paying $62.52 for a share.


Coincidentally I've been following solar stocks quite closely of late, I made mention of 'Trina Solar' a couple of weeks ago in a post of the same title. I didn't receive a reply which is a shame as Trina has given me 30% gains since then. Your brother might as well take no action on ESLR as as it stands he'll make pennies on the dollar, whereas I would hope that, for your brothers’ sake, that the stock could reach $1.50 - 2. It might take a little bit of the sting out of the disappointing situation.


If you don't mind my asking, how did your brother come to own INIV.PK? At a glance it looks as though it is almost certainly a 'Boiler Room' stock, which would fit the profile, him being a naive/ inexperienced/ first-time investor. I have been living overseas for some years so am not sure if B.O.I is a 'Full Service' or 'Discount' brokerage - my question is; why on earth was your brother not warned by his Broker or Account Manager to the enormously high possibility that he was about to be outright scammed, or at least buy into a legal (technically) pump and dump stock. This would represent an alarming/ contemptible case of professional negligence on behalf of his B.O.I contact person.

Scratch it off as a loss and bad experience, encourage him to apply himself to steadfast research. There is a river of money to be made via bonafide equities, as opposed to ' becoming a millionaire overnight' scammers whom appeal to naivety and greed. I suggest he purchase Platinum & Palladium for a hearty short-term gain, especially considering the rather stagnint broader market.

Buratino

So take it out, you say?!

The way he was pulled into this apparently is.. he s got a car loan with Bank of Ireland, and had a spare money gathered up, so rang them to enquire what the procedure was to pay off the loan, and was politely recommended to see the lady in the investment dep-t, the rest is history as they say .. now he’s lost out on it, and still paying off the loan.

rugbyman

buratino

i do not have any advice to offer you.

the stuff posted by wildrover is very informative, but what i wold like to know is do the bank say they can get 9 k for your b.i.l., if he chooses to sell.?

secondly if the bank disuaded your bil from paying off a loan and "enticed" him(my word) to invest ,then a pesky solicitor may consider taking them on.( make sure "no foal ,no fee")

Regards, rugbyman

pocketdooz

Evergreen and Innovator are funds, not stocks as stated above.

.

Buratino

Rugbyman, you ve got the point but the conversation was over the phone, so how it could possibly be proven that he was offered to invest. As well as that it was his choice then to go and see the lady in the investment section, and that is there job to sell (they are on commission i suppose) and they do it well as you know.
I think he is just annoyed at this stage as has lost his job too and doesnt know what to do... take it or leave it!


And yes, apparently if he feels in te form the money will be in his account within a week. But will it in practice, thats what i dont know!

irishh_bob

Buratino wrote: »

Hi guys,
My bro in law has an investment with BOI from 2007, in total he has put in 12,5 K (i know not much but still) . He is saying that the money is down now to around 9K, (been down to 8.5 at beginning of the year, then up to 9.5, now gone down to 9). Dont know why he put in money to start with as he doesnt have a clue in investments (same as me btw). But the question is ... is it time to get the 9 K before it drops down even further? He cant see it getting going back to 12,5 in the next 2 years the way the economy is still going.
What do you think?

never invest in a fund through a bank , someone close to me invested in an irish life fund at the begining of 2007 , this person chose to have the bulk of the money invested in commodities , from around march 2007 to the middle of 2008 was a bumper period for commodities internationally , the commodities fund with irish life grew by less than 5% , they just fling the money anywhere , makes no difference to the bank whether the fund makes money or not , all their interested in is commision

Chipboard

The charges are so heavy on those funds that they have to perform very well before you get anything. In my view they're a waste of time and money, especially in the current depressed market. If you don't know enough about the markets to invest in equities directly I think your better putting your money on deposit (I'm not saying I do either - my funds are on deposit) or investing in directly in something you do know about. I would bet that if a trawl was done of the Banks records it would emerge that they sell the vast majority of these to Joe Bloggs, straight in off the street, and very little to their more sophisticated investors.

The investment advisers (sales people) in BOI don't get commission btw, they get to keep their jobs. Thats how bad a job banking is.

Buratino

Thanks, guys!
Think he is planning on ringing in today and get out whats left.