ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A local man described as “being good with shares” has told The Advocate that the secret to his success was buying them in 1996.
Shortly after the Keating Government brought great shame upon itself by privatising everything from Qantas to the Commonwealth Bank, the great age of the Initial Public Offering (IPO) on once-state-owned assets began.
Betoota Heights investor Colin Oscopi, 74, took full advantage of it.
In 1994, the Keating Government facilitated the privatisation of Commonwealth Serum Laboratories (CSL), a little known government body that focused on pathology, in particular, vaccine manufacture (please don’t start with your fucking emails about this).
Oscopi was one of those investors that decided to pick a few up in June 1994 at A$2.30 per share. He purchased 1000 and later inherited a further 5000 when he father selflessly died suddenly in 1996.
He still has them to this day.
Aside from his investment in CSL, Oscopi made other investments in the Commonwealth Bank, Qantas, NAB, BHP, Rio Tinto, Macquarie Bank and Cochlear.
Combined with his real estate investments, Oscopi enjoys a reputation of being “good with shares” and “smart with money”.
When in actual fact, he tells The Advocate that it’s much simpler.
“I’m not going to sit here and tell you I’m Warren Buffett,” he said.
“But there are many people my age who will. But look, investors these days have had their chances. Look at AfterPay? $5 to $150 in just a few years. I wasn’t on that but plenty people were. The only reason I’ve got millions of dollars worth of shares is because I bought most of them before the Olympics. I bought houses in the 80s. That’s the secret.”
More to come.
