Nominee Accounts

When Brokers Go Bust

Post Date: December 15, 2015

"When Brokers Go Bust" was the title of a fascinating article in Investors Chronicle on 11/12/2015. It covered the impact on investors when their stockbroker goes out of business. That's pretty uncommon you might think. But it revealed the surprising fact that in the last five years alone more than 400 investment firms have gone belly up, based on data from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). It spelled out two particular problems: 1) the difficulty in untangling pooled nominee accounts (which ...

Better Finance Press Release on Shareholder Rights Directive

Post Date: November 9, 2015

The following press release has just been issued by Better Finance - an organisation that represents private investor associations: PRESS RELEASE A CAPITAL MARKETS UNION WITHOUT A SINGLE MARKET FOR EU-WIDE SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT Brussels, 9 November 2015 – The Commission’s proposal for the review of the Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD), aimed at countering wide-spread short-termism in favour of a long-term perspective in the governance of listed companies by stimulating stronger shareholder engagement, was presented to the European Parliament (EP) and Council. Whereas the EP ...

Corbynomics, Director Remuneration and Voting

Post Date: September 17, 2015

The media is full of analyses of late of the impact of the new Labour front bench and the policies of the key players such as Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and Business Secretary Angela Eagle. Mr McDonnell apparently advocates big increases in public spending, higher taxes on the wealthy, cancellation of the independence of the Bank of England and widespread nationalisations of energy companies and the railways. The Financial Times ran an editorial on 16/9/2015 suggesting that Mr McDonell's "cavalier disregard of ...

Hargreaves Lansdown and opaque accounts

Post Date: September 10, 2015

Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.), who claim to be the largest UK investment platform, announced their Preliminary Results yesterday (9/9/2015). I have made some comments recently about the benefits stockbrokers receive from client cash funds, and in particular the fact that dividends received by holders of nominee accounts are received and retained by the broker unless asked for, instead of being paid direct to the shareholder as happens when you are on the share register. So I thought it useful to look at ...

An Unpardonable Inequity

Post Date: August 30, 2015

There was a great article on the nominee system by John Hughman in FT Money yesterday (see www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7aaee6fe-4ca9-11e5-b558-8a9722977189.html?siteedition=uk#axzz3kHgbWFFq ). Under the heading of "The unpardonable inequity that blights UK equities", John spelled out in simple terms why nominee accounts are indefensible. They deprive shareholders of their rights in the name of convenience and cost which are myths promoted by brokers for their commercial advantage. Here's one pithy quote from the article: "In fact, I'll go further - it is an indefensible embarrassment ...

The Case of the Disappearing Shares

Post Date: August 27, 2015

Another example of the wonders of pooled nominee accounts has come to my attention. When you buy shares through a stockbroker, you expect to receive them. Indeed settlement should now take place in 2 days if traded electronically as most now are. So if you are using a stockbroker's nominee account they should appear in that account in that period. You will see them on your account so they will be there will they not? The answer is not necessarily! Take the ...

ShareSoc Deplores Withdrawal of Personal Crest Membership by Brokers

Post Date: August 24, 2015

ShareSoc has issued the following Press Release: Following the takeover of Stocktrade by Alliance Trust Savings (ATS), the latter have decided to withdraw support for Personal Crest Membership from their clients. Clients will either have to transfer into the ATS nominee service, turn their holdings into paper share certificates (a truly archaic form nowadays which are soon to be outlawed by an EU Directive), move to another broker or liquidate their holdings. This continues a recent trend for stockbrokers to terminate the ...

National Grid AGM, Rensburg AIM VCT and Stocktrade

Post Date: July 22, 2015

I attended the National Grid Annual General Meeting in Birmingham yesterday. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to ask a question as the organisation that I was representing as a proxy put my son's name on it rather than mine so I was only allowed in as a "guest". It was not a particularly exciting event this year. Not a single shareholder complained about the outrageously high pay of the executive directors. The Chairman was both dogmatic and condescending to the mainly ...

What is Personal Crest Membership?

Post Date: May 31, 2015

What is Personal Crest Membership and why should I use it are questions I am often asked. This article aims to supply the answers to those questions. Personal Crest Membership is one of the three ways in which you can hold shares as a retail client of a UK based stockbroker. The three ways are in a nominee account, as a paper share certificate and as a Personal Crest Member. Very briefly these are the disadvantages of the first two methods (more ...

A Dream Become a Nightmare – And a Plug for ShareSoc

Post Date: May 18, 2015

There was a good article in the Daily Telegraph on Sunday (17/5/2015) explaining how Thatcher's dream of a share owning population has become a nightmare. She tried to create a nation of investors by privatisations and regulatory changes to improve business competition but instead many companies have ended up being sold to foreign buyers. Even worse there has been a collapse in private share ownership. The reported proportion of UK shares held by individuals has collapsed from 20% in 1994 to 11% ...

Alliance Trust Stocktrade Acquisition and Sexism in the City

Post Date: May 15, 2015

Yesterday (15/5/2015), Alliance Trust announced the acquisition of the Stocktrade service from Brewin Dolphin which will be integrated into the Alliance Trust Savings (ATS) subsidiary. The acquisition will cost ATS £14 million, and that cost plus an additional £8m of regulatory capital will be funded by the parent company with an injection of equity. This move will anger many shareholders of Alliance Trust who have expressed concerns about the expansion plans for the Alliance Trust subsidiaries, the capital required and the ...

Nominee Accounts

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