Company News

Atlantis Japan Growth Fund – Requisition to Restructure or Liquidate

Atlantis Japan Growth Fund (AJG) is a closed end investment company (i.e. like an investment trust) focussed on small Japanese companies. It has had disappointing performance in recent years, is trading on a significant discount to asset value, has low liquidity, and is now relatively small in size. Indeed the current market capitalisation is only £54 million which many people would consider unviable, as a result it has relatively high costs (2.47% On-Going Charge according to the AIC). The fund has ...

Post Date: April 25, 2016 Read more

Sprue Aegis (SPRP) Business Review

The directors of Sprue Aegis have agreed to answer ShareSoc Members questions on Wednesday the 27th April following the recent trading statement (profit warning) and after the results announcement on the previous day. This event will commence at 6.00 pm and last approximately one hour. It will be at the office of Tavistock Communications at: 131 Finsbury Pavement, London, EC2A 1NT. If you plan to attend please tell us by using the ShareSoc Contact page here: Contact - mention “Sprue Aegis ...

Post Date: April 23, 2016 Read more

Anglo American and Pay

Following ShareSoc's recommendation to vote against the Remuneration Report at Anglo American, yesterday the company received 42% of shareholders votes AGAINST it. Other advisory bodies also recommended opposition and this is a significant snub to the board which they will have to do something about. The ShareSoc press release we issued is here: https://www.sharesoc.org/pr74angloamercian.html The Investment Association which represents institutional investors has published a report which suggests that pay in public companies is "not fit for purpose" and needs reform. This has ...

Post Date: April 22, 2016 Read more

Lakehouse, Stock Spirits and Sprue Aegis

I commented on the affairs of Lakehouse and Stock Spirits in the last ShareSoc newsletter. Both companies had been attacked by unhappy shareholders who had submitted requisitions to change certain directors, a process that seems to be becoming more common of late. Both situations have now to been resolved to a great extent. At Lakehouse the Chairman Chris Geoghegan is departing forthwith, with the three new directors proposed by the requistioners being appointed to the board as non-executive directors including founder Steve ...

Post Date: April 20, 2016 Read more

Vote Against Remuneration at RELX

ShareSoc is advising its Members to vote against the Remuneration Report resolution at the RELX Annual General Meeting on 21 April 2016. ShareSoc consider the pay of the CEO...

Post Date: April 18, 2016 Read more

Persimmon AGM and Remuneration

On the same day as BP held its Annual General Meeting (AGM), and got snubbed by shareholders over its Remuneration Report, house building company Persimmon held its AGM in York. One might have expected that Persimmon would also have been attacked for its remuneration scheme, for the reasons explained below, but in reality it passed with only 9% of votes against. Indeed there was more opposition to the election of a new non-executive director, Nigel Mills, who only passed with 53% ...

Post Date: April 15, 2016 Read more

BP Remuneration Vote Lost

BP had 59% of shareholders voting AGAINST the Remuneration Resolution at their Annual General Meeting (AGM) on 14/4/2016 (and that's ignoring the abstentions which some institutions like to use to express dissatisfaction). This is what the Chairman had to say even before the vote was cast: "We know already from the proxies received and conversations with our institutional investors that there is real concern over the directors' pay in this challenging year for our shareholders. We have always judged executive performance not ...

Post Date: April 14, 2016 Read more

Stock Spirits – A More Direct Approach

I have commented on the affairs of Lakehouse recently where disgruntled major investors have requisitioned an EGM to replace all the non-executive directors. One commentator asked why the investors did not try to change the CEO also. A more direct approach is being taken at Stock Spirits (STCK) where concerned shareholder Western Gate Private Investment, who own 9% of the company, have submitted a requisition to remove the CEO, Chris Heath, and also appoint two new experienced non-executive directors. Stock Spirits is ...

Post Date: April 6, 2016 Read more

Lakehouse – Corporate Governance is Not Just About Box Ticking

The affairs of Lakehouse where major investors Slater Investments and Steve Rawlings have requisitioned an EGM to remove and replace the non-executive directors has been covered in previous blog posts. Slater has now issued some explanation for the reasons which can be read here: http://www.investegate.co.uk/slater-investments/rns/egm-statement/201604010700107965T/ The board of Lakehouse criticised the three new directors proposed on the basis that they were not independent and hence that corporate governance rules were being broken. The requisitioners say though that "Corporate governance is not just ...

Post Date: April 1, 2016 Read more

Lakehouse and Tungsten

To follow up on my previous report on a presentation by Lakehouse directors following a requisition submitted to remove three of the non-executive directors, the company has now published a 21 page document giving their reasons why shareholders should support the board. As is customary in these battles, the board "unanimously recommends you vote against the resolutions" to remove the three new directors and appoint new ones. I said in my previous note that it was "all still a puzzle" as it ...

Post Date: March 26, 2016 Read more

Group description:	A welcoming group open to all types of investors. Typical meeting content is to have a deep dive presentation on a topic selected by the participants and a session on buy/ sell/ key lessons learnt last month.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person at a friendly pub close to Piccadilly Circus
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly during the evening on the first Wednesday of the month.

Group description:	Our group is a broad church that contains investors of varying experience. Our members’ backgrounds are diverse and include corporate banking, engineering, teaching and the leisure industry. We generally pick a discussion topic for every meeting, e.g. housebuilders or the defence industry, and members are invited to research and discuss different aspects or companies within that industry. We also discuss stocks and investment trusts that we have bought, sold or are interested in and the reasons behind our decisions, and try to make sense of the ever changing investment environment. Discussions are robust and challenging but we are a friendly and approachable group who welcome investors of all levels – we just ask that you contribute, at whatever level you can.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Our meetings are held in a private room at a nice pub near to South Ealing tube station (Piccadilly Line), not far from Ealing Broadway (District, Central and Elizabeth Line).
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	We meet every 2 months, usually on a Wednesday morning at 11am.

Group description:	All levels of experience welcome. A typical meeting agenda includes: – Macro Environment – Trades: Members review existing positions and identify securities with promising TA entry patterns or setups and with suitable risk/reward. Any security, long, short, futures, options may be considered. The convener takes actual positions in trades and maintains his own detailed ledger, accurately measuring performance of individual securities and cumulative activity. Members are notified by e-mail prior to the entries or exits that are decided upon. Following each meeting an updated copy of the ledger is circulated together with the next meeting agenda. Members may wish to maintain similar ledgers of their own but there is no obligation to do so. – Technical Analysis: Techniques and systems used in trades. Members can request discussion of particular aspects of TA.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online via Zoom
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	The first Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9pm

Group description:	Following the launch of the SIGnet Technical Traders groups, it was identified that there were a number of members who use fundamental and other information as their main source of choosing companies to invest in, who would find some understanding of technical analysis helpful to identify good entry and exit points for their investments. This new SIGnet Technical Analysis in Support of Investing group is therefore being launched and we welcome members of all levels of experience to join.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online via Zoom
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	There will be an initial Zoom meeting on Monday 29th April at 7pm to launch this group, please email info@sharesoc.org if you are interested in joining.

Group description:	Open to all investors / people with an interest in investing. Typical meeting will involve members talking about recent purchases, successes, failures and possible future purchases. Also with occasional visiting speakers or members making presentations on a topic of interest.
Meeting Type/Venue:	We aim to meet on the last Tuesday of each month in a private room at a pub in Playhatch. Start time 7pm with members encouraged to meet up around 6pm for a bite to eat / drink before hand, if their diaries allow.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	7pm on the last Tuesday of the month. Meetings likely to last about two hours but with informal ‘overspill’ before / after.

Group description:	Group focused on active investing, primarily in small / medium cap UK equities.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Regular Zoom meetings interspersed with occasional face to face meetings and social activities in the North West.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly on Saturdays at 10am.

Group description:	Our group covers a wide spectrum of mainly stock market investing and trading from equities – which include shares, ETF’s Investment and Unit Trusts. We normally rotate the meeting chairperson (responsible for creating, with member’s help, suitable agendas) and a meeting presenter (members take it in turns to provide a 15 to 45 minute presentation on a subject of their choice). Various investing topics of interest are regularly discussed such as software, brokers, investing categories and markets and any related topics of interest.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings will be returning to in-person in a private room at a West London golf club, close to an underground station. In the meantime monthly video calls and an in-between meeting email group will continue.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	In-person meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month in the afternoons, following a golf club one course lunch.