1. The incentive to buy these shares is that they are 20%...

1. The incentive to buy these shares is that they are 20% cheaper than they were some months ago. You wouldn't sell your house if its value dropped by 20%, and likewise you shouldn't confuse the price of a share with its value.

2. I have no idea how you concluded that ARG "appears to be in a consistent longterm downtrend". ARG has returned, in capital growth and dividends, 13.6%pa over the last ten years (cf 11.5%pa for the All Ordinaries Accumulation Index). That sounds like a pretty strong long-term uptrend to me.

3. The right time to invest in ARG is when you have the money to do so. (I can't remember whom I have paraphrased there.) The same applies for MLT, CHO, AUI, DUI and STW - but you need to be in it for the long term.

4. I think margin lending is appropriate over ARG shares, provided it is done judiciously when a level of gearing that you are comfortable with.

Good luck and welcome aboard the Argo ship!