ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, December 9, 1996 TAG: 9612100006
SECTION: MONEY PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MAG POFF/STAFF WRITER
THE perfect Christmas gift may be money. It's a perfect fit for just about everybody, it's always welcome and it comes in more forms than you may realize.
A book about money could be an unusual gift if you know people who swear they plan to get serious about saving and investing in the coming year.
Two financial planners in Roanoke independently recommended the same book for novice investors: "The Intelligent Investor," by Benjamin Graham. Published by Harper and Row, the book sells at retail for about $18.
Andrew Hudick of Fee-Only Financial Planning and P. Wesley Hambrick Jr. of Hambrick Investment Advisors both called it a solid, basic book for the person just getting started. Hambrick said it takes the reader back to fundamentals of investing, which is what is needed in today's markets.
Hambrick also liked a second book by the same author for people who have more experience in the field: "Security Analysis" by Graham and Dodds, which Hambrick called a "classic, old-line book."
Published by McGraw Hill, it retails for about $59 and is for the more advanced and serious reader.
David Cissel, a certified financial planner with Financial Solutions in Roanoke, recommended "A Random Walk Down Wall Street," by Malkiel Burton and published by Norton.
A bank is an obvious place to shop for gifts related to money, and Ty Smith, manager of First Union National Bank's Hershberger Road branch, had several suggestions.
Smith said U.S. Savings Bonds are always popular. They come in many denominations, he said, but a Series EE bond can be purchased for $18.75 and over time will pay the recipient $25.
The bonds are delivered by mail from the Federal Reserve Bank, but you can give a receipt as your gift.
Smith said you can open a savings account for any amount of money if you put it in the name of a child. The account must name an adult as custodian.
This is a good gift, because you can add any amount to the account for subsequent birthdays and Christmases.
Accounts in the names of minors have no fees and avoid the usual $200 minimum balance, Smith said.
If you plan to spend a larger amount of money, perhaps for a grandchild or godchild, Smith said you can buy a certificate of deposit for $100 or more. The CDs can be written in the recipient's name.
Another alternative is to start a child in a mutual fund for his or her college education. The initial investment in most mutual funds is $1,000, but you can make subsequent deposits of $25 or $50.
However, Smith said, you can open a fund account with a much smaller amount, perhaps $50, if you promise to make monthly contributions of $50 to the fund in the future.
The bank has the new $100 bill, Smith said. An uncirculated bill makes a nice gift, especially because this design was just introduced.
What about foreign currency for people planning a trip? Smith said the bank can get Mexican pesos, Canadian dollars, French francs and the like as a starter fund for people going overseas.
Finally, Smith suggested a checking account for a high school student with an allowance deposited. This gift, he said, can prepare teen-agers for independent life in college, because they can learn to handle checking "while you are in a position to supervise."
A gift of stock can help a young person learn about the benefits of owning shares in a company. The recipient will receive annual reports and learn something about the business.
Peter Milward, manager of the Roanoke office of J.C. Bradford & Co., said stock for a young person should be a long-term investment. You would expect the child to hold the shares for many years without active trading.
The most conservative choice for a stock in today's market is AT&T, the long-distance telephone company, Milward said. It recently traded for about $38 a share.
His middle course would be Motorola at $54 a share. The company makes telephones, computers and wireless systems.
Somewhat riskier would be shares in Atria Communities, a long-term-care business that operates 30 assisted-living centers. This is a play on the "graying of America," Milward said, because more people over 85 are alive today than ever before. Atria's recent per-share price was $10.50.
If you want a mutual fund, Milward said, Washington Mutual Investors Fund has an excellent record, year in and year out.
A final possibility is to give unusual forms of currency.
Reg Luck, manager of the Roanoke Coin Exchange, said proof sets of U.S. Coins are popular year after year. These especially minted and uncirculated coin sets range in dollar price from the low 20s to the upper 80s depending on the qualify of the set.
Gold coins are less popular than in past years, he said, probably because the trading range of the metal has remained static. These American coins go from the high $50s to more than $400, depending on the amount of gold. He said the foreign versions have been pretty well pushed out of the country by domestic traders.
Another potential gift is an American Eagle silver dollar. They start in the $10-$11 range, depending on the amount of silver in the coin.
LENGTH: Medium: 96 lines ILLUSTRATION: GRAPHIC: Robert Lunsford. color.by CNB