Author: kool4kats | Date: 15/10/2008 16:46:58 | Number: 2103

A & L are held in HYP1 and as they are shortly to disappear into Santander I understand, I was wondering what was going to be the result of that (from a HYP1 propspective).

Given that HYP1 is a non-tinkering demo HYP, I would like to preserve it as such so would like to know what would be the viable options? i.e. what would Pyad do in this situation?

Given that this is a 'shares' not 'cash' takeover, the easiest non-tinker option is to just divide the number of A&L shares by 3 and truncate, then change the name to Banco Santander, ticker BNC.
(Well, that's what I did!)

Dividends from BNC are payable quarterly, 1st August, November, February and May (Final). Current dividend is €0.135234 (NB EURO!) for the interims, with the final being dependant on the Final Accounts (due mid-April?).
(Information gleaned from the BNC site http://www.santandershareholder.co.uk/home and last Annual Report (2007).

Incidentally, the ex-dividend date is also the payment date - see http://www.santandershareholder.co.uk/dividends/dividend_his...
The Record date is the day before the payment date, with the actual payment being distributed by 2 weeks after. http://www.santandershareholder.co.uk/dividends
Latest dividend info is the RNS http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=200810081642364...

Adrian

Thanks for that info Adrian.

Going to the Santander microsite which covers the acquisition, the effective date seems to be 10/10/08. I would just like to confirm my understanding that this is the effective date of the changeover of the shares.

Regards,

Bruce

" .... what would Pyad do in this situation?"

Say that there was no way of knowing whether A&L was a good pick or not until 973 years after Auntie Doris was dead ... ????

Gr.

Going to the Santander microsite which covers the acquisition, the effective date seems to be 10/10/08. I would just like to confirm my understanding that this is the effective date of the changeover of the shares.

Yes, although in practice the A&L shares were delisted at the end of Monday 13th Oct with the replacement BNC shares appearing in my account on 14th Oct.

Adrian

Referring to HYP1 then, A & L comprised 768 shares at an original purchase price of 645p each. As luck would have it this exactly divides by 3 to give 256 new BNC shares.

I reckon then to keep the record straight, I need to multiply the original purchase price by 3 to give a value of 1935p. Would someone be able to confirm if my assumption is correct?

Regards,

Bruce

A & L are held in HYP1 and as they are shortly to disappear into Santander I understand, I was wondering what was going to be the result of that (from a HYP1 propspective).

Given that HYP1 is a non-tinkering demo HYP, I would like to preserve it as such so would like to know what would be the viable options? i.e. what would Pyad do in this situation?

My guess is that for a demo paper portfolio, he would sell and use the proceeds to buy a new share. Having to deal with Spanish dividend withholding tax to get an accurate income figure would I think be simply too much hassle for what he described as his "indolence". And he has been known to sell rather than just let things go through to avoid hassle - he simplified the whole complicated saga of the United Utilities two-stage rights issue by selling his rights and using the proceeds to buy ex-rights UU. shares that weren't going to have anything more happen to them in the rights issue.

For a non-demo real-money portfolio, I wouldn't be so sure - one of the advantages of a real-money portfolio is that the company registrars do most of the calculations and tracking for you! (Which is the reason why my demonstration HYP is run on a "1/8th scale model" real money basis - though even that draws the line at foreign-taxed dividends, since they involve real extra hassle for me in terms of my tax return...)

So while I suspect he would sell if he were running the demo portfolio, it's for reasons that may wellnot apply if you're running it instead. Be aware though that keeping on running a demo portfolio for years on end can easily become a chore that you become increasingly reluctant to do - so be careful about accepting extra hassle associated with it...

Gengulphus

So while I suspect he would sell if he were running the demo portfolio, it's for reasons that may well not apply if you're running it instead. Be aware though that keeping on running a demo portfolio for years on end can easily become a chore that you become increasingly reluctant to do - so be careful about accepting extra hassle associated with it...

It's already been quite a strain trying to bring it back into line!

http://boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=11258910&sort=w...

However, I thought it was a pity to let it just die now especially in these turbulent times which should be the make or break of it. It would be interesting to see whether or not parts of it crash and burn or the whole thing does still make sense as a cohesive unit providing protection even through such turmoil. Maybe some lessons can be learned even if it's just that balancing one's portfolio is advisable (as you have so often advocated).

Hopefully I can manage to keep it going a bit longer and at least if it does get too much then hand it on to some other caring soul in a manageable shape.

Thanks for your input. I think I might look into selling the A & L shares for the sake of an easier life. After all it is essentially a takeover, if not actually for cash.

Regards,

Bruce