What have you got in the bottom drawer?

By Stephen Lansdown | 25 Aug, 2008 

Over the years, just like any other investor, I have accumulated investments which seemed a good idea at the time, but as the years have gone by I have tended to look at them, make a note of their value and leave them to their own devices.

I have used the excuse that these are investments for “the bottom drawer” and that at some time in the future they will serve a useful purpose. Unfortunately more often than not that time keeps getting further and further away with the investments getting less and less useful.

There were the privatisation stocks and new issues that I thought would be useful for the kids. They often performed quite well to start with but eventually languished so I tidied them up via a share exchange into a decent unit trust.

Then there was the endowment savings scheme which seemed just right for school fees or a special event but it never reached the heights envisaged. Eventually it petered out and matured with reasonable return I might add, but I really should have reorganised it sooner.

These are just a couple of examples of letting investments gather dust in the proverbial bottom drawer, no doubt you can think of more. As I look out on another miserable wet British summer’s day it occurs that this would be just the right time to open that drawer and sort things out.