Newspaper Page Text
6A
FEBRUARY 14, 2002
Business
Spread the investment risks
Ifyou’vebeeninvestingthe
majority of your funds in one
stock or other investment
vehicle, you need only toread
current news headlinestosee
the impact of not doing what
financial consultants have
been saying for years—diver
sify, diversify, diversify. That
means all of your financial
holdings, whether they are
stocks, 401(k) plans, bonds
or other funds. Diversifica
tion is one of the best ways to
help you reduce possible dev
astating effects of holding all
your investments in one or a
few asset classes.
The process of determin
ing which kinds of invest
ments you will hold, and in
what proportions, is known
as “asset allocation.” Its
purpose is to help you
achieve an optimal mix of
investments to produce the
desired returns with the
least amount of fluctuation
in your overall portfolio
holdings. Asset allocation
seeks to accomplish this by
reducing your exposure to
lossesthat could result from
a decline in one or more of
your portfolio investments.
By spreading your funds
among several investment
types, you may increase the
probability that if the per
formance of oneinvestment
typeisdisappointing, others
are holding steady or out
performing.
What are Your Choices?
Most types of assets fall
under threebroad categories:
stocks, bonds and cash
equivalents. On a long-term
historical basis, stocks have
provided the highest returns
but havealso experienced the
most fluctuations in price.
Cash equivalents (CDs, sav
ings accounts, for example)
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Orinancial
Consultant
havehistorically offered thelow
estreturns with thefewest fluc
tuations in price. Bonds have
generally fallen somewherebe
tween these two categories in
both risk and returns.
Under these three broad cat
egories lie numerous asset
classes. For instance, most
stocks can be identified as ei
ther “value” or “growth.” In
addition, they can be further
segregatedintolarge, smalland
mid-sized accordingtothetotal
market value, or capitalization,
of all the shares outstanding.
Bonds can be classified by ma
turity—short-, intermediate-or
long-term—and further segre
gated by type of issuer—corpo
rate, U.S. Treasuries, mort
gage-backed or municipal, tax
able and tax exempt. Stocks
and bonds can also be catego
rizeddependingonwhetherthey
have been issued by U.S. or
foreign entities.
Diversification :
and Performance
Studies of the past perfor
mance of these asset classes
haverevealed distinct patterns
regarding their historical re
turns and risk (as measured by
price fluctuations). For in
stance, a study by Salomon
Smith Barney’s Consulting
Group revealed that “value”
stocks (those perceivedas priced
below their true worth) and
“growth” stocks(thoseexpected
to grow faster than average)
tend to outperform each other
AUGUSTA FOCUS
over intermediate time peri
ods ranging from three to
eight years. However, over
long time periods of a decade
ormore, thedifferencein per
formance of these two asset
classes diminishes. Studies
havealsorevealedreturnand
and small-company stocks
andbetween U.S. and foreign
stocks over long periods.
Because of these differing
patterns, thereturnson vari
ous asset categories may not
movein thesamedirection or
by the same amounts. As a
result, their returns may par
tially offset each other. By
combining asset classes in a
portfolio, you may be able to
achieve returns that fluctu
ate less than any single asset
class held separately. This
can increase the compound
ing effect of incremental re
turnsover time, possibly lead
ing to substantially higher
total returns.
Determining an asset allo
cation strategy that best suits
your particular circumstance
depends on many variables.
Theseincludethereturnsyou
would like to achieve and the
amount of risk you are will
ing to take. You should also
consider your currentincome
requirements and the num
ber of yearsrequired toreach
ing your particular invest
ment goals. Once those vari
ables are known, a Financial
Consultantcan helpyoumake
an informed decision.
Past performance is not a
guarantee of future results.
Constance Woods is a Fi
nancial Consultant with
Salomon Smith Barney. For
more information, contact
Constance L. Woods at (706)
823-8144 - or
constance. L woods@rssmb.com.
Georgia-Carolina Bancshares, Inc.
announces significant earnings growth
1 AUGUSTA, GA
~ Georgia-Carolina Banc
shares, Inc. (the “Company”)
announced a significant rate
of growthinassetsand arecord
increasein annual net income
for the company. Total assets
grewfrom $116,509,000at the
Company’syear end of Decem
ber 31, 2000 to $205,865,000
at December 31, 2001, an in
crease of $89,356,000, or 77
percent.
The Company further re
ported consolidated netincome
0f51,675,000 for theyearended
December 31,2001 which rep
resents a significant increase
in netincome compared to the
- yearended December 31,2000,
which totaled $184,000.
Basic earnings per share for
theyear ended 2001 were $1.49
, ascompared to $0.14 per share
for 2000.
The Company posted net in
* come of $618,000 during the
fourth quarter of 2001 com
pared to a net income of
$145,000 for the fourth quar
ter of 2000.
These fourth quarter earn
ings provided an annualized
return on average assets of
1.33 percent and an annual
ized return on average equity
of 19.08 percent for the three
months ending December 31,
2001. Basicearnings per share
for the fourth quarter of 2001
were $0.55 compared to $0.16
for the fourth quarter of 2000.
Patrick G. Blanchard, presi
dent and CEO, Georgia-Caro
lina Bancshares, Inc., stated,
“Our loan growth of
$82,000,000 during the year
enhanced our netinterest mar
gin which contributed to the
net income of the Company.”
Blanchardstated, “The Com
pany also enjoyed significant
(\oo¢ ‘mpro " AUGUSTA NEIGHBORHOOD
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724-0075 0 gg{flfl"’ L“ ,
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Appointment gy P T
ANIC, 753 Broad Street .
awios . “Building Healthy Neighborhoods
Augusta, GA 30901 r »
Telephone: (706) 724-0075 Jor All Augustans .
Fax: (706) 724-7233
**Payments based on $15,000 down payment assistance plus estimated taxes and @
insurance. Eligibility and criteria are subject to change without notice. ym—
OPPORTUNITY
increases
in rev
enues
from the
bank’s
mortgage
division,
First
Bank
Mort
gage.”
T he
year 2001
Patrick Blanchard
was a very strong year for the
Companyand itsbanking sub
sidiary, First Bank of Geor
gia. The Company held its
grand opening of the Medical
Center Office of First Bank on
January 22, 2001 at 1580
Walton Way, Augusta, Geor
gia.
“We are extremely pleased
with our continued acceptance
inthemedical center and down
town area of Augusta,” stated
First Bank president and CEO,
Remer Y. Brinson 111.
“Thisnew officeis providing
us with strong growth in both
loans and deposits,” Brinson
continued.
During May of2ool, the Com
pany held its Annual Share
holders Meeting at the
Radisson Augusta Riverfront
Hotel in downtown Augusta
on May 16, 2001. During this
meeting, the Company an
nounced the election of Mr. A.
Montague Miller to the Board
of Directors of First Bank.
“We were very pleased to
welcome Mont Miller to our
Board, which is made up of'a
number of outstanding busi
nessand community leaders,”
stated First Bank president
Brinson.
OnOctober 2,2001, thebank
held its groundbreaking cer
emony for the new Furys Ferry
Office of the bank, which is
expected toopenin March 2002.
“We are excited about the
opening of the Fury’s Ferry
Office, which is the fourth of
fice that we’ve opened in the
last three years. We believe
that this is a testament to the
economy of our area and the
attraction of community bank
ing,” stated Brinson. “Our
entreeinto thisarea of Colum
bia County has been well re
ceived.
On October 19, 2001, the
Company announced a2O per
cent stock dividend on each
share of its outstanding com
mon stock. The dividend was
effected in the form of a 6-for
-5 stock split. The new shares
weredistributed on December
1, 2001 to shareholders of
record as of the close of busi
ness'on November 15, 2001.
Blanchard stated that
“Board of Directorsof the Com
pany approved the dividend as
a means of rewarding the
shareholders of the Company
for their interest and support
over the years.”
Morgan Keegan & Company,
Inc. is serving as the principal
market maker of the common
stock for the Company. Mr.
Leonard H. Seawell, senior
vice president of Morgan
Keegan, serves as the market.
maker. j
Georgia-Carolina Banc
shares’ common stock is
quoted on the Over-the-
Counter Bulletin Board under
the symbol of GECR.
Georgia-Carolina Banc
shares, Inc. is a bank holding
company with $205 million in
assetsasof December3l,2ool.
The Company owns First Bank
of Georgia which conducts
bank operations through of
ficesin Augusta, Thomson and
Columbia County, Georgia.