September 1 • 2019 The Mail on Sunday (^) Wealth 67
GRAPHENE – a wonder material
that is tougher than a diamond and
thinner than a flea’s hair – has the
potential to revolutionise the world.
The substance can be used for
everything from creating a bendy
mobile phone screen to strength-
ening the wings of a jumbo jet. It
can also improve the sensitivity
of a condom and save your life –
protecting from infection when
under the knife.
That single layer of carbon atoms
arranged in a honeycomb structure
is not only the thinnest material
known to man but also a great con-
ductor of heat and electricity.
So it is no surprise that this 21st
Century technological marvel
should be viewed as an exciting
potential investment. But while it
may have captured our imagina-
tion, scientists are still working out
ways to harness its usefulness in a
way that can also ensure it will turn
a healthy profit for investors.
Graphene is made in a laboratory
by processing graphite – the mate-
rial that you find in pencil lead –
until it is just one atom thick. But
the ultra-thin sheets cannot simply
be picked up like a piece of cling-
film. You need an army of highly
skilled scientists in dust-free condi-
tions able to handle a near invisible
material that easily tears and all
too easily folds in on itself.
The carbon sheets can cost just
£100 a gram to make but using
graphene in a product can cost mil-
lions of pounds.
Ben Yearsley, director of financial
adviser Shore Financial Planning,
believes the best way for investors
to get involved is through a research
company that is looking at ways the
material makes money.
He says: ‘Buying tech of the
future can be a risky business, but
highly rewarding if you get it right.
Companies such as Qinetiq offer an
interesting way of getting into
graphene. This company has a
track record of developing prod-
ucts that have turned out to be
profitable in the past. Buying into
such a fund that has shares in the
company helps spread your risk.’
Qinetiq has been involved in
exploring whether graphene might
be used to make military vehicles
invisible to enemy radar – by absorb-
ing radar waves. It is also consider-
ing using it to coat wind turbines to
stop them interfering with local air-
port radar stations.
Yearsley says investment fund
Schroder UK Opportunities has
(^3) .2 per cent of its holdings in Qinetiq.
But the fund has not set the world
alight – providing returns of 10 per
cent in the past five years compared
to the FTSE All-Share average of 28
per cent. The £136 million Schroder
fund has a 0.75 per cent annual man-
agement charge.
Another fund that Yearsley sug-
gests as an alternative is the LF
Majedie UK Equity Fund. This
£3 billion fund owns more than 3 per
cent of Qinetiq – a £53 million stake
- and it makes up 0.64 of the fund.
It comes with an annual manage-
ment charge of 0.75 per cent and
over the past five years it has
enjoyed returns of 20 per cent.
Graphene has not been around for
long – a key reason why it is still
seen as a material for the future
rather than something that is
already harnessed. It was isolated at
the University of Manchester by
scientists Andre Geim and Kostya
Novoselov, whose work earned them
a Nobel Prize for physics in 2010.
Jason Hollands, managing direc-
tor at broker Tilney, says: ‘It is cer-
tainly not an investment for the
faint-hearted. There are just a
handful of stock market listed com-
panies – all on the Alternative
Investment Market (AIM) for
smaller, riskier companies – that
are involved with graphene. These
tiny outfits, such as Directa Plus
and Applied Graphene Materials,
are simply too small for main-
stream funds to invest in.’
Instead you can get exposure to
such companies via Venture Capi-
tal Trusts (VCTs). These are special
funds that invest in Britain’s riskier
fledgling companies. Since the
Government wants investors to
back these growth companies of
the future it offers juicy tax breaks
in return. Investors are eligible for
30 per cent income tax relief so
long as they are willing to tie up
their money – a maximum £200,000
a year – for five years. Capital gains
and dividends from VCT invest-
ments are also tax free.
Hollands says: ‘By pooling your
Will banks check it’s YOU shopping simply by the
way you hold your phone? Financial Mail
starts On
Page 93
By Toby
Walne
These are the big name firms which are about to issue income
payments to shareholders – plus the date they go ex-dividend
(after which buyers will have to wait for the next round of
payments) and the next income payment per £1,000 of shares.
Company Description Share price Ex-dividend Next dividend Payment per
(buy) date payment £1,000 of sharesGreggs Food £21.14 sep 5 Oct 3 £22.18
Land Securities Property £7.75 sep 5 Oct 4 £14.96
RSA Insurance Group Finance £5.23 sep 5 Oct 11 £14.33PayPoint Payments £8.87 sep 5 sep 27 £23.68
Dixons Carphone Retail £1.07 sep 5 sep 27 £41.90
Micro Focus International Software £11.09 sep 5 sep 30 £42.07Crest Nicholson Housebuilding £3.47 sep 19 Oct 25 £32.28
British Land Company Property £5.10 Oct 2 nov 8 £15.66
British American Tobacco Tobacco £28.80 Oct 3 nov 14 £17.62
Rightmove Real estate £5.36 Oct 3 nov 15 £5.23WPP Advertising £9.70 Oct 3 nov 4 £23.40
BAE Systems Defence £5.46 Oct 17 Dec 2 £17.23weekly dividend calendar
It’s a wonder material for everyone from soldiers to surgeons, so...
aswellas
(save yourlife?)
money with others you are hope-
fully lessening the financial risk of
your investment as well as benefit-
ing from great tax free breaks.’
One to consider, he says, is the
Unicorn AIM VCT, which invests
mainly in Alternative Investment
Market companies. It has 1.8 per
cent of its portfolio invested in the
firm Directa Plus, which repre-
sents a near 10 per cent sharehold-
ing in the graphene firm. This
£ 200 million fund has enjoyed
impressive returns of 37 per cent
over the past five years. Charges
are steep at 2 per cent a year.
You can also get a slice of graph-
ene access through an investment
trust. Blackrock Throgmorton
Trust has 1.4 per cent of its
£ 5 30 million investment pot – just
over £7million – in Qinetiq. The
trust has seen a dramatic rise in
value over the past five years –
having soared in price by 117 per
cent. It charges 1.29 per cent a
year in management fees.
[email protected]... butbewareof scams
THE exciting potential of a
material such as graphene not
only captures the imagination of
investors – but also crooks
looking for a new scam to trap
the unwary.
City watchdog the Financial
Conduct Authority is warning
investors to steer clear of cold-
callers contacting them inperson, by email, phone or even
post with promises of double-
digit annual returns for those
willing to put their money into
graphene.
Investing directly into
graphene is dangerous as you
are ploughing money into an
unregulated market – so you will
not have access to the FinancialOmbudsman Service or
Financial Services
Compensation Scheme if things
go wrong. Any ‘investment
opportunity’ boasts that include
the terms ‘wonder product’ or an
offer for ‘a pre-boom period’
should set alarm bells ringing.
Do not invest without seeking
independent financial advice.VERSATILE:
Graphene could
be used in
operations to
prevent infectionCould graphene
revive
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