Investors seeking a cheap, no-frills way to sell privatisation shares need look no further than the postbox.
Most stockbrokers offer bargain-basement deals on postal trades. They are ideal for selling a small holding for the lowest possible commission. But the arrangements leave investors at the mercy of the Royal Mail and a seller will not know in advance how much a sale will produce. Data processing engineer Mark Stanistreet of Bradford sold by post after buying a few National Power and PowerGen shares when they were privatised. He says, "I didn’t really know where to go to for help. An information slip with the share gave details of Yorkshire Building Society’s share shop service, which offered to sell for a flat fee of ￡5." "It was an ideal first step that showed me how easy and cheap it is to sell shares. I have been investing in a small way since then. " "I use Yorkshire’s telephone service, which has a ￡9 minimum fee." Many stockbrokers offer postal deals as part of their usual dealing services, but clients may normally sell only big company or privatisation shares this way. ShareLink’s minimum postal commission is ￡7.50, Skipton Building Society’s is $9 and Natwest’s is $ 9.95.
The message of the passage is that shares can now be sold（）