Shipping-linked stocks drive BT Random Fund

THE BT Random Fund, an experimental collection of 10 randomly picked stocks on the Singapore Exchange (SGX), recovered somewhat from a January dip to be down just 0.9 per cent for the year at end-February, continuing to beat the benchmark Straits Times Index (STI) which is down 1.8 per cent.

The stable performance was in spite of illiquid, loss-making printing firm Craft Print International. The counter's only trade made in February was executed with a single lot changing hands at 2.1 cents, sending the counter down a whopping 22.2 per cent from its last traded price of 2.7 cents in December. Now, it is puzzling why someone would want to spend $21 of capital on a trade when minimum broking costs are $25, but the counter has to be kept alive somehow.

Luckily, our other illiquid, loss-making micro-cap, health supplement distributor Jacks International, saw five lots traded at 6.5 cents in a single day in February. This was the stock's only movement for the month with a value of just $325, but it was enough to send the counter up 6.6 per cent for the year.