You could be forgiven for being a little envious of Mark Blencowe. Youthful good looks – despite 26 years in financial services. Happily married, with a grown-up family in Hertfordshire. A successful business on the beautiful island of Mauritius. And, to cap it all, one of Stanley Gibbons’ most successful Agents!

Mark’s company, Capital Management International (CMI) Ltd, offers independent financial services to high net-worth individuals and expatriates in Mauritius, with clients also in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. Together with his colleague, Rajiv Bissessur, he has a small team offering investment advice and retirement planning. It is a bespoke service: Mark and Rajiv know all their clients personally.

As well as representing many of the world's major international offshore investment and insurance companies, Mark is proud to also offer his clients Stanley Gibbons’ investments in rare stamps and collectibles. Of course, Mark has been familiar with Stanley Gibbons for a long time, having been a keen stamp collector in his youth. Though his clients’ rare stamp portfolios would no doubt put his boyhood collection to shame!

Mark and Rajiv have represented Stanley Gibbons for over two years. They were initially impressed by the idea of diversifying into an asset class with no correlation to stock markets, bonds, property or interest rates. And with guaranteed minimum returns, it has become an important part of their investment strategy.

It is a strategy that has worked well for his clients: as the credit crunch took hold and markets crashed, rare stamps and collectibles continue to show positive returns.

Little wonder then, that Mark has invested in a Stanley Gibbons rare stamp portfolio for himself!

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The Blue Penny Museum is the obvious venue whenever Stanley Gibbonshosts a presentation for Mark and Rajiv’s clients in Mauritius. As well as inviting existing investors, Mark uses the event to attract new clients. And the press coverage of the event from newspapers and TV is always good for business!

Like Mark’s company, Stanley Gibbons offers a very personal service to its clients and Agents. We are happy to discuss each client’s requirements before putting together a portfolio of rare stamps or autographs for their consideration. When it is time to sell, they can expect expert advice on how to achieve the best prices.

Our most popular product is our Guaranteed Minimum Return Contract offering minimum returns of 3%-5% per annum, with an unlimited upside. Currently available are:

5-6 years at 3% per annum
7-9 years at 4% per annum
10+ years at 5% per annum.

We also offer

• free storage and insurance
• annual valuations, based on our catalogues, accessed securely on-line or sent by post
• no management fees or annual charges
• generous commission to Agents and financial advisers.

In addition, we can host presentations or seminars for small groups of investors – whether you are based in a tropical paradise like Mauritius, or inner-city Manchester!

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We can also assist our Agents with marketing: designing and printing flyers to mail out to clients, or producing e-mail newsletters.

Mark recently asked us to produce a sample portfolio of rare Great Britain stamps for about £50,000 with a price history for each item going back to the 1970s. This was the portfolio we came up with:

    

 

Stanley Gibbons catalogue price history: 1974-2009
	1974	1980	1985	1990	1995	2000	2004	2009	% p.a.
1840 1d Black (SG 2)	£140	£2,400	£3,250	£3,250	£3,250	£3,500	£4,750	£11,000	13.3%
1880 2s Brown (SG 121)	£400	£4,500	£5,500	£6,000	£6,500	£7,500	£12,000	£20,000	11.8%
1902 2½d Board of Education (SG O85)	£20	£350	£500	£500	£500	£550	£1,500	£4,000	16.3%
1914 ½d Cyprus Green (SG 355)	£200	£2,000	£2,250	£2,500	£1,750	£2,000	£4,000	£8,000	11.1%
1924 4d Grey Green (SG 424a)	£200	£700	£750	£1,100	£950	£1,300	£2,400	£4,500	9.3%
1961 6d Parliament  (SG 629a)	£150	£200	£250	£500	£300	£475	£700	£2,000	7.7%
	£1,110	£10,150	£12,500	£13,850	£13,250	£15,325	£25,350	£49,500	11.5%

In 1974, his portfolio would have cost just £1,110. Today, Stanley Gibbons’ catalogue price is £49,500 – an increase of 11.5% per annum for 35 years. The stamps show no correlation to the FTSE or Gold, and easily outperform both over the 35 year period. This portfolio is by no means atypical. Many of our investment-grade stamps show similar results.

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My name is Geoff Anandappa and I am Investment Portfolio Manager with Stanley Gibbons Ltd in London. One of my main roles is recruiting and working with Agents and financial advisers around the world: UK and Europe, North America and Asia. I am sure that you and your clients can benefit from our investment products. Please contact me for further details. And, with any luck, in a few years, we can all join Mark Blencowe in Mauritius!

Geoff Anandappa
Investment Portfolio Manager
e-mail: ganandappa@stanleygibbons.com
tel: 020 7557 4442 (intl. +44 207 557 4442)