Tech Valley Stocks Outperform Major Markets
Published Apr 15, 2006
Site selectors mine a multitude of barometers when measuring a region’s business climate. Ultimately, the success of companies already doing business there weighs heavily.
In New York’s innovative Tech Valley, chamber and financial professionals decided to take the traditional metrics of business vitality and kick them up a notch.
The result – TechWatch– tracks the stock prices of 15 trend-setting companies doing business in Tech Valley.
The 18-county region runs from metro New York to Canada and includes such blue chip bellwethers as GE, Verizon, IBM and Time Warner. But TechWatch also monitors such diverse operations as Optimal Group, a company that sells self-checkout scanning stations to major retailers; C.R. Bard Inc., a U.S. pioneer in the production of medical catheters; and Intermagnetics General Corp., a producer of MRI technology in the medical field.
In 2004, shares of TechWatch companies appreciated 19 percent while the Nasdaq gained 14.7 percent, the Dow climbed 7 percent and the S&P 500 improved by 8.9 percent.
Individually, there were some powerful bulls stampeding through Tech Valley: The Optimal Group rose 46 percent, C.R. Bard gained 58 percent and Intermagnetics soared 70 percent.
Todd Slingerland manages the hypothetical portfolio of Tech Valley stocks at Capital Financial Planning LLP, a firm that conceived TechWatch in concert with the Albany-Colonie Chamber.
“It’s interesting to learn more about our local technology companies as New York State becomes a true technology powerhouse through the Tech Valley initiative,” Slingerland says.
There’s no actual TechWatch index on which investors can trade, but the portfolio simulation shows how successful Tech Valley companies can be. Each of the 15 companies maintains headquarters, major research facilities or a significant employment presence in Tech Valley.
Story by Gary Perilloux
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