Investment peak unlikely to last

by Anthony Manduca

According to Mark Hogg of Hogg Capital Stockbroking Limited, the recent huge increase in equity prices is short lived. Writing in today's The Malta Business Weekly Mr Hogg says: "The feverish trading activity of the past fortnight or so has included a spate of entirely new investors looking to make some easy money in the local capital market. But it won't last. It never does. Those investors arrogant enough to believe that they have been extremely clever to be trading the local equity market will probably be the first to panic out of their investments and probably at a loss."

Mr Hogg says that no one can outwit the market and that the market is always right "and as the speculators' greed snaps into fear, share prices will likely fall".

He adds: "Investors may well be experiencing a peak in the present investment cycle. Given the relative size of our capital market such cycles may well be short in duration and hence any possible down draught will be short-lived."