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Technology Stocks : Safeguard Scientifics SFE -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Arnopp who wrote (1123)	2/18/1998 10:35:00 PM
From: David Lawrence	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4467

You know, John, that theme goes back to the beginning of this thread. Safeguard's consolidated earnings are meaningless, in my opinion. The value driver is the current and future market value of the two portfolios, period. We may have to chase down rounding errors in determining the premium or discount of market capitalization versus NAV premium, but that only helps in determining the timing of buys and sells. It'll fluctuate, but doesn't really mean much on a long-term basis unless a wide disparity develops. Yet, it's still a better place to focus attention than is earnings. I would find the task of making sense of comparative earnings daunting, since subsidiary earnings that are included or excluded my vary from period to period due to FASB rules and changes in shares outstanding in the various subs. The truly daunting task is to analyze the value of the private portfolio. I doubt we'll ever be able to do anything other than to take wild stabs at it, and will have to defer to management's guidance. Without a doubt that is where their attention should be focused - keeping the pump primed with solid contenders for rights offerings. They will have a big job on their hands to maintain a portfolio capable of supporting 3 or 4 offerings per year. On a side note, I was somewhat humored at all of the fanfare today surrounding Lucent's announcement of their venture capital fund. If they are half as good as Safeguard, they'll do okay.