email : any change to farmin schedule or not, page-35

A good point you make for discussion anatol:

'I don't know why majority of shareholders are being labelled by being ST holders.'.

When does a ST holder become a LT holder and under what conditions. It is the same question as 'how long is a piece of string?'.

I think I touched on this in another thread when I unfortunately mentioned financial advisors. The point I made then is the same I will make now. There are degrees of investing to suit types of investor.

Cash and property are the safer forms of investment but the returns are usually low but suit the low risk investor. This type of investment is for the LT investor.

Mortgage trusts and investment funds are next but the investor is relying on a third party to manage their investment. To cover themselves a fund manager usually says to invest for at least five years because of the financial cycles - especially if exposed to shares. The problem with this is if you start your investment in bullish times and want to cash out after five years and the global economy has gone into a downturn then you are stuck.

This was highlighted during the GFC where interest rates, property and the share market all went in a slump together and investors who had no control over their funds were at the mercy of the economic climate. In Oz ASX had just been heated up by investors being encouraged to sell off their assets and place them into super for a tax incentive along with margin loans becoming more popular.

One way of having control over our investments is to self manage our funds. This eliminates the third party component and we have the ability to determine and carry our own level of risk. But with this risk comes responsibility and decision making.

The lower level risk shares, namely the blue chip shares where you can also earn an income, would be ideal for the low risk investor. Provided the company's fundamentals are sound they can usually ride out a downturn - or bounce back. Even so if the indicators are there for outside pressures to put your investment at risk we always have the option to sell.

As we go down through the type and size of the public listed companies the risk is proportionally greater. To compensate this we have taken it upon ourselves to manage our own exposure to and length of time we hold shares in the company. We like to be in control which is why we are retail investors in the first place - the greater the risk the greater the reward or loss.

So in essence we are all ST holders who may become LT holders depending on the circumstances. We should always make allowances for any changes which may come about. We need to plan a trading strategy. This should be basic to cover all shares but flexible as events happen to an individual share.

This brings me to MEO and this discussion. Even though MEO has sound fundamentals and good prospects it is still a high risk play because of it's low BV. Add to this MEO is a small cap company with a large number of retail SHs who like to be in control of their holdings, but may lack the skill and be prey to the big boys (talking generally).

Taking note of my previous comments and MEO's rollercoaster performance over the years it has been a difficult share to manage - but most shares are.

This has become more pronounced since the data room opened and the delays in finalising the agreement. Because of the expectations of management meeting deadlines with the ann of the farminee and terms of the deal, a large number of SHs are now LT. Really we may have decided to hold most of our MEO shares for the long term anyway but at the same time we would like the choice to sell - but only on our terms and under our control.

Remember I said before we are all ST holders really because we want to be in control of our investment. Well that control has been taken out of our hands because of the long wait for the ann even though we believe will put upward pressure on the SP.

Perhaps the lesson to be learned is not to hold on to shares for a long time if it doesn't suit our psyche. Perhaps a better plan would be to sell at preset profit margin and buy in later like so many posters on HC. The fact that we see the price rise and fall so many times whilst holding the shares and missing out, at the same time as holding on to such a risky share, is bound to fray the temperament of some, over time.

Like we are told often enough we can sell if we want to but the sharks swimming around would love that. Our loss (if we have one)is their gain. One way to stop this is to be patient and always aim to make positive trades. If we make mistakes then that's ok - we can learn from them.

But having said all this I am a ST holder, like everyone else, who has decided to hold my MEO shares for the long term until at least the farmin details are announced. From there I will decide what to do until Artemis is drilled and beyond.

But, in hindsight, I should rephrase my previous statement to say:

'"Conversely the management of a company shouldn't put a deal in jeopardy just to satisfy some shareholders in the ST".'

This doesn't mean to say MEO management can't revise their business plan and share the changes with the owners of the company. I feel that the plan should be revised and published each quarter. But when I look at some companies' websites there is no information at all and what there is, is out of date (for example MOG). I feel MEO are quite good in that aspect.

But would this raise SHs expectations and create more deadlines? It is a fine line they walk. Sometimes, to be a good manager, you have to make the hard decisions and be unpopular.

This doesn't mean to say that the ann will come any earlier than it can. Each time we expect it we are only setting ourselves up for more disappointment.

We have been told that the farmin deal is almost finalised and the details will be published in due course.

FIRB approval can only be made once legally binding agreements have been executed.

Two suitable rig options have been identified.

Artemis will be drilled in Q3.

The NT/P68 permit application has been submitted for a five year renewal comprising a three year primary term and two year secondary term. This will be/has been processed.

I know that the key to feeling more comfortable is by knowing the farminee and the detail of the deal but we can do nothing more than be patient and WFTA.

IMO #:>))