CANNY investors in Yorkshire are among the most successful at managing their share portfolios compared with any other region in the UK, according to new research by Halifax Share Dealing.

As part of a regular monthly survey into investors' attitudes and predictions of FTSE performance, Halifax Share Dealing questioned more than 1,700 investors in September 2004, making it one of the largest surveys of its kind.

Yorkshire was found to be the region with the highest success rate when it comes to making a profit, with 51 per cent of investors reporting their portfolios had risen in value. Following closely behind was the South of England with 50 per cent reporting their portfolios had risen in value. On the other hand, the investors least likely to report a profit were from the East of England, with only 41 per cent reporting a rise in value.

Sue Concannon, managing director of Halifax Share Dealing, said: "Our past research has looked into factors such as age and gender when it comes to portfolio management, but this is the first time we have looked at it from a regional point of view, which has proved to be fascinating.

"It appears that Yorkshire folk are among the best at making a profit from their portfolios.

"It will be interesting to see if this continues to be in the coming months.

"Encouragingly, investors from all the regions were more likely to report a rise in the value of their portfolios than a loss in value".

Updated: 11:20 Thursday, November 04, 2004