Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, December 13, 1993 TAG: 9312110032
SECTION: MONEY PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
But there are several ways to pass the wealth - and plenty of new books on the subject.
In fact, two local securities brokers - Peter Milward, manager at J.C. Bradford & Co., and William Nash, manager at Scott & Stringfellow Investment Corp. - recommended the popular works by Peter Lynch, former manager of Fidelity's Magellan Fund.
His book, "Beating the Street," was published this year. Lynch's earlier work was "One Up on Wall Street."
The first volume is on sale at some bookstores for $12.50. Published after Lynch made his reputation as a writer, "Beating the Street" sells for $22.
William Gill, book buyer at Books, Strings & Things on Roanoke's City Market, said a popular money book this year - because it's promoted on talk shows - is "Awaken the Giant Within" by Anthony Robbins. It's $12 in paperback.
Marshall Loeb's "Money Guide" is a perennial best seller among money books, Gill said. It costs $15.95 in paperback.
Another potential book gift is Kiplinger's "Invest Your Way to Wealth." That's a hardcover book selling for $23.95.
A gift of money also can come as a coin. Roanoke Coin Exchange at Towers Mall has in stock several different proof sets of coins ranging in price from just over $20 to about $80. Proofs are unused standard coins polished to a high degree of reflectiveness.
Even more popular are the silver Eagle dollars, whose price is based on the cost of the silver. The current price tag is less than $10.
The exchange reported that stamps, which vary in price, are also making a comeback this year after a long period of dormancy.
Lois Ayersman, who works at the downtown office of NationsBank, said the gift of establishing a savings account is especially appropriate for a child.
That's because any amount can be deposited in a savings account for a child and the accounts generally do not carry service charges at most banks. And the giver can add to the account each Christmas and birthday.
The gift of a savings certificate is steeper in price because banks charge a minimum of $500 or $1,000.
Penny Brueckman, who works in one of Crestar Bank's downtown Roanoke branches, suggested giving crisp new currency as smaller gifts. Her bank has a supply of unused $2 bills, along with other denominations, and can provide gift envelopes.
Anyone going for a bit of monetary nostalgia might give Susan B. Anthony dollar coins that Crestar has taken in for the holidays.
Brueckman said a popular item during the Christmas season is the American Express gift check. It comes in denominations of $25, $50 and $100 and has a gift envelope.
Banks also sell U.S. Savings Bonds, Brueckman pointed out. The bond will come by mail, she said, but the buyer gets a certificate of purchase he can give on Christmas morning.
Robert Kulp, manager of the Roanoke office of A.G. Edwards & Sons, said he would give shares in a mutual fund.
If the recipient is a young person, he would select a growth fund for future appreciation.
But sometimes the recipient has a special interest and might enjoy a gift of common stock in a company matching that interest, Kulp said.
A young person interested in aviation, for instance, might get a kick out of owning shares of an aircraft manufacturer, such as Boeing Co., or an airline, such as USAir Group, Kulp pointed out.
A younger child who is a toy consumer might like a share of a favorite store, such as Toys-R-Us, he said, or of Tootsie Roll Industries Inc., a candy manufacturer that Kulp said is "a very good stock."
But a good quality mutual fund avoids the Scott & Stringfellow manager William Nash tends toward mutual funds as gifts because both full-service and discount brokers have high minimum commissions. That makes it unattractive to buy fewer than 100 shares. problem of having to follow the market for a stock, Kulp noted. He believes that makes it a better gift, especially for a young person.
Milward also likes growth mutual funds, especially if a young person is saving for a college education.
His recommendation is the Washington Mutual Investors Fund, which has a portfolio of top-quality blue chip stocks of United States companies.
An alternative, Milward said, is Capital World Growth and Income Fund which invests all over the world.
Milward's favorite stock for a gift is Merck, "the Cadillac of the drug industry," selling recently for $34.25 a share. He said it is low in price right know because of "the Hillary [Clinton] effect on all health care stocks."
He also recommends Sara Lee Corp., which owns companies making food products and clothing such as Hanes and L'eggs. Its recent price was $26 a share.
Nash said he tends toward mutual funds as gifts because both full-service and discount brokers have high minimum commissions. That makes it unattractive to buy fewer than 100 shares.
Even so, some of his customers like to invest in Walt Disney Co. stock for children because the certificate shows cartoon characters. Others buy toy company stocks such as Mattel Inc.
Franklin Funds and Templeton Funds are two mutual fund families that accept initial investments of $100, Nash said. They offer government, income, global and other portfolios.
He likes mutual funds because the giver or the recipient can make subsequent deposits for as little as $25.
To John Parrott of Wheat First Securities, "there's nothing better than a zero-coupon bond."
They are sold at a discount from face value depending on the length of time to maturity. The longer the time period, the lower the price.
Parrott said a $1,000 government bond maturing in 10 years was recently selling for $550.
His alternative would be a mutual fund investment to which the giver would add subsequent gifts over the years.
by CNB