It was 20 years ago Tomorrow

No not Sergeant Peppers Band but the Great Stock Market Meltdown of 1987.

I didn't follow the Stockmarket 20 years ago. I vaguely recall a news incident at the time but didn't equate it with anything serious.

I was living in Sydney at the time, so the fallout from it wasn't as bad as it was apparently in New Zealand.

My introduction to the Stockmarket came almost exactly 10 years later, when I bought shares in the fast food operator Restaurant Brands Ltd [RBD.NZ]

Since then I have taken a great deal of interest in equities and my 10 years invested in it has taught me much.

Investing in the NZX has given me an appreciation of business, how fear and greed work in financial markets and most of all made money for me.

The biggest lesson that I have learnt is from losing money in a couple of stocks. That hasn't dulled my obsession with the market though.



Craig Heatley (left), and Allan Hawkins
after Rainbow Corporation lists on
the Stock Exchange in the mid 1980s


Unlike some who lost their shirts and more back in 1987 my loss wasn't very large and thousands of Kiwi investors haven't forgotten those heady days and wouldn't touch the sharemarket with a barge poll today.

The New Zealand Sharemarket was one of the worst affected back in 1987 and still hasn't recovered from the hit that it took. Most other global markets have multiplied their values many times in the last 20 years. The US market is now worth more than 5 times what it was worth all those years ago.

True, the NZ Stockmarket is a much more stable and regulated market than it was back in those wild west days but there are still some negative elements that linger today, most notably the insider trading that is done by NZX sanctioned broker firms and management of its listed companies.

Lets hope for a more positive next 20 years. NZX's Mark Weldon is doing a good job so if he straightens the rest of the markets kinks out then we might get somewhere.


Related Share Investor Reading

New Zealand Stockmarket: A History from beginning to present day.
"Mr Market" gets his groove on
A sensible approach to global market volatility
Global Market's dropping and your portfolio
Research, research, research
Watch for dead cats bouncing
Stockmarket Education: How do you buy shares?
Stockmarket Education: What is a Share?


Stockmarket Education

Stockmarket Dictionary
Stockbrokers: What you should know before choosing one
10 Basic questions to ask before investing
How the Stockmarket works
Understanding Risk
Watch Your Risk Tolerance
Stockmarket Education: What is a Share?
What Moves the Stockmarket?
7 Signs of Shareholder Friendly Management
Financial Media For Investors
Dividends in detail



From Fishpond.co.nz - Buy Toughen Up: What I've Learned About Surviving Tough Times



Toughen Up - Fishpond.co.nz


c Share Investor 2007