Bad name, poor returns?

Venture Capital firm NewMediaSPARX has managed returns of just 1.5% a year. Ridiculous names can be a good way to spot poor investments - or just keep an eye on 'administration costs'.

If I were paying a team of seven directors a cool £5m for managing an investment portfolio valued at £79m I would expect something pretty damn good.

I would certainly expect something rather better than a share that has only managed to ascend from the 10p at which it was launched on the stock market back in 1999 to the 11.25p at which it stands today. And before you ask No, there have not been any dividend payments.

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Tom worked as a fund manager in the City of London and in Hong Kong for over 20 years. As a director with Schroder Investment Management International he was responsible for £2 billion of foreign clients' money, and launched what became Argentina's largest mutual fund. Now working from his home in Oxfordshire, Tom Bulford helps private investors with his premium tipping newsletter, Red Hot Biotech Alert.