In the world of investing, one must know when to quit.  Whilst it is, I hope, many years before I no longer manage my money, one shouldn't expect to own their favourite stock today, forever.  After all, it is not just that the world changes (because obviously, it does), but any share can become fundamentally fully-valued; that is when to move on.

Congratulations if you are a Brewin Dolphin (BRW) shareholder after the announcement a few days ago that “Royal Bank of Canada swoops in £1.6 billion deal…260-year-old City stalwart set to fall into foreign hands with shares soaring 61%”.  And today I read that “NatWest Group (NWG)…is among a group of parties expected to examine takeover bids for Tilney Smith & Williamson”.  It is good news for any shareholders in names being bid for at chunky premiums, but it is not good news for underlying client investors in my opinion.  And here’s why…

Hello Share Chompers. At last, our debt-laden Government has sold shares in NatWest Group (NWG) back to the bank. That means that the Treasury no longer holds as much control over the bank as its voting rights now fall below 50%. Following the sale of a chunk of its shares, government ownership in NatWest is now at 48.1% – down from 50.6%. The plan is to cancel all these shares. That can only be good news for the share price.

I was amused to see that “Scottish Widows pulls million investors out of tobacco” as I noted yesterday that “I’ve never smoked, but I do still believe that shares in Imperial Brands (IMB) are cheap”. It is fine not to buy a particular sector but where do you stop? After all you can also not buy alcohol, military and commodity shares (and more) on a similar rationale. From my perspective, I am happy to see both Imperial Brands and British American Tobacco (BATS) shares up this morning as I write. Meanwhile I also observe that NatWest Group (NWG) shares are up today despite the government announcing a further share sale…

Is it time for me to sell my (extremely small) NatWest Group (NWG) shareholding? The last time I wrote about the stock in August 2020 with the mad world of stimulus and ultra-low interest rates – and despite the government’s still 60%+ shareholding in NatWest then - I thought the sector was cheap. Since then the shares have approximately doubled to their current just shy of 235p level. So time to sell the NatWest holding or not?

I start with a few other comments on Greek Hovel matters. Then I move on to talk about three companies which I shall be or are discussing with the FCA: Zenith (ZEN), Eqtec (DOG), and Verditek (VDTK). Then onto NatWest Group (NWG) where I apologise for my bad language. Finally my thoughts on the gold price and comments on gold stocks I own: Centamin (CEY), Ariana (AAU), Kefi (KEFI), Bluebird Merchant (BMV), and Xtract (XTR).

I hope that the old renamed Royal Bank of Scotland did not spend too much money on its rebranding, as calling themselves NatWest Group (NWG) did not require that many brain cells.  Sadly, a change of name did not immediately change prospects.  After all, it does not matter if you have a mortgage heavy book or not. In today’s world, you are not going to immediately change your prospects if you are a bank.  NatWest Group trades even more cheaply than Lloyds Bank (LLOY) at x0.4 price:tangible book, but then it does have the disadvantages of higher loan-to-value mortgages and the government on its shareholder register (owning a cool 62%).