First NZ does a lot better by picking Briscoe

By ELLEN READ

Those constant sales must work - a winning performance by retailer Briscoe Group catapulted First NZ Capital into top place in last year's Business Herald survey of brokers' picks.


First NZ (formerly CS First Boston) was the only broker to include Briscoe among its five picks last year and was rewarded with a stunning 100.1 per cent return - proving that you really never do buy better.


Pacific Retail Group was the second highest performing stock among last year's picks, returning 59.6 per cent for its sole patron, Forsyth Barr. The company completed a controversial takeover of lingerie-maker Bendon and the market loved it, despite its continued policy of not paying dividends.


Last year's most popular pick, Fletcher Building, also served its backers well, returning 26.3 per cent as the market rewarded strong earnings and Fletcher's purchase of Australian-based Laminex Group.


Other strong performances came from Auckland International Airport, Natural Gas Corp, Nuplex and Force Corp (now Sky City Leisure).


In general, retail and entertainment stocks performed well last year, as the local economy remained resilient despite the global economic downturn.


First NZ's success with Briscoe was diluted by the loss on one of its other picks, Sky Television, but overall the broker chose well. A punter who divided $10,000 equally among First NZ's five choices would have seen his or her stake grow to $12,448 by the end of the year (ignoring brokerage and tax).


The same sum would have grown to $10,229 if invested in a fund tracking the NZSE-All Index, or $10,736 if its fortunes reflected the NZSE-Small Cap Index. In the bank, the stake would have grown to about $10,500, but if it was invested in a typical superannuation fund it probably would have shrunk to $8900 or so over the past year.


Second placegetter ASB Securities has the honour of being the only firm whose choices all produced positive returns.


In number three spot, Forsyth Barr chose well with Pacific Retail Group - owner of Noel Leeming, Bond & Bond, Living and Giving, Big Byte and Bendon - but stumbled with Sky TV and Telecom.


Further down the list, JBWere and UBS Warburg would also have provided investors with a positive return.


At the other end of the scale, Tower, RMG and Tranz Rail tripped up the brokers who took the four bottom places.