STOCKS AND SHARES.

Taranaki Daily News, 10 July 1923, Page 6

STOCKS AND SHARES.

There is a fundamental difference between the Gross and Net Income from shares. The net income from an investment is the difference between all the advantages and disadvantages of holding such assets. The mere dividends as they stand are important, but they are not the sole criteria of the worth of an investment. In selecting an avenue for the employment of capital it Is wise to bear in mind the following points: 1. Whether the capital is to be used in some work of production or distribution that will 'benefit the community of which the investors forms a part. 2. Whether the investment carries a low proportion of risk. 3. Whether the dividend earning prospects are satisfactory. So far as the farming community is concerned, there is no investment which carries with it more advantages than the shares in the various Farmers’ Cooperative Trading Companies in the different parts of the Dominion. These shares give the producer an opportunity of deriving direct and indirect benefits from the trade in essential supplies for farming operations. Through the “Farmers’ Co-op” farm requisites are purchased on the best terms, and, what is more important, the farmer is given a chance of sharing in the profits earned on the purchase and sale of these goods. In Taranaki we have the Farmers’ Co-operation Society of New Zealand Limited which is one of the youngest and most virile of the cooperative trading companies in the Dominion.

Although this Co-operative Company has achieved remarkable results, still greater progress would be made possible if all the farmers of the province gave the movement their fullest financial support. In the normal course of events, a compajiy relies upon its uncalled capital as a reserve for' extending operations and organising trade upon the most profitable lines. Many of the shareholders of this co-operative organisation have failed to pay calls. By this omission they are seriously handicapping the company and preventing it from achieving the best results. Moreover, they are showing a serious lack of enthusiasm in a concern, which should be the pride of every producer in the Taranaki districts. It should not be overlooked that the prompt payment of these calls will enable the company to trade upon a more extensive and more remunerative basis and will greatly strengthen the divi-dend-earning capacity of the whole of the share issue.