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ShareSoc Blog

The ShareSoc blog provides news and informal commentary from directors, members and other contributors. Entries reflect the personal views of the authors, which do not necessarily reflect ShareSoc’s formal position. Contributors may hold shares in the companies mentioned. Nothing in this blog should be viewed as financial advice. You may submit comments on blog posts, but ShareSoc reserves the right to remove or edit inappropriate or defamatory submissions.

There is more news given in the News page of our web site and more analysis of news is provided in our monthly newsletter for members – see the Newsletters page.

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Last chance to join the RGL Woodford Group Litigation against Hargreaves Lansdown

Post Date: March 26, 2025
30th April 2025 Deadline Announced Claims management firm RGL has announced a deadline for individuals to register their potential claims under the no-win-no-fee funding arrangement. Writing in The Mail on Sunday, Jeff Prestridge notes that the RGL claim is free to join, with RGL taking a share of the bounty only if the group claim is successful. It's time to make your mind up if you were a Hargreaves customer who invested in Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF). There are currently over 8,300 claimants on ...
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SIGnet Investors Network Launches New Online National Group

Post Date: March 25, 2025
SIGnet is excited to announce the launch of a new online group which Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join. SIGnet is a national network of individual investor groups in the UK. Groups meet on a regular basis, typically monthly or every 6 weeks, to give individual investors the opportunity to socialise, discuss, and learn from each other. The main goal is to improve members' knowledge and investment decision-making processes through free discussion and mutual education. This new group will ...
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Streamlining Electronic AGM Access

Post Date: March 21, 2025
  In recent years, some platforms have improved the ease of shareholders attending AGMs in person, with ii and AJ Bell adopting the Broadridge service, which makes it easy to request a Letter of Representation for in-person attendance. However, gaining access to AGMs electronically is often still cumbersome for all concerned. This is particularly the case for AGMs held on the widely used Lumi platform. To gain access a code must be obtained, which is not a concept Broadridge currently supports. Codes are ...
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SIGnet Investors Network Launches New Group in Windsor

Post Date: March 19, 2025
SIGnet is excited to announce the launch of a new in-person group based in Windsor. Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join.   SIGnet is a national network of individual investor groups in the UK. Groups meet on a regular basis, typically monthly or every 6 weeks, to give individual investors the opportunity to socialise, discuss, and learn from each other. The main goal is to improve members' knowledge and investment decision-making processes through free discussion and mutual education.  The aim ...
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Laggard GUSBOURNE Case Study

Post Date: March 18, 2025
Sparkling Product, Sour Investment   Gusbourne PLC (GUS), an AIM-listed producer of English sparkling wine, is a case study in how minority shareholders in small-cap companies can be severely disadvantaged. While the product itself may garner acclaim, the company's recent trajectory has left a bitter taste for many individual investors. Lord Ashcroft, Gusbourne's majority shareholder and primary debt holder, is moving to take the company private, leaving smaller shareholders with severely limited and unpalatable options. Gusbourne Share Price Performance A Precipitous Decline in Value The timeline of ...
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ShareSoc’s first Chair’s lunch

Post Date: March 6, 2025
On Monday 3rd March we held our first Chair’s lunch with a number of key people who support ShareSoc’s ambitions in raising the profile of the individual investor.  The lunch was sponsored by our Patron Lord Lee and was held in the House of Commons. Our Chair, Heather Benjamin, was joined by Gervais Williams (Premier Miton), Claer Barrett (Financial Times), Fraser Thorne (Edison), Alex Stella (Investor Hub), Richard Stone (AIC), James Ashton (QCA) and ShareSoc directors Mike Dennis and Mark Northway.   ...
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FRC Consults on UK Stewardship Code – ShareSoc Responds

Post Date: February 19, 2025
ShareSoc response to FRC consultation on Stewardship Code (Feb 2025) In November 2024, the FRC launched a consultation on proposed revisions to the UK Stewardship Code, which sets out the core principles of effective stewardship and transparency for asset owners and asset managers.  Our full response is here.
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Why ESG-Focused Funds might be a Strong Investment Choice

Post Date: February 15, 2025
  Despite a history of greenwashing and historically dubious definitions of what defined an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) qualifying investment, sustainable investing has now shifted from an ethical to a practical financial strategy. Investors, emboldened by new, robust governance of what constitutes an ESG investment (from the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG)), are increasingly focussed on firms which integrate ESG sustainable business practices that lead to long-term financial resilience. Beyond ethical considerations, ESG-focused funds offer ...
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Portfolio Review 2024 – Cliff Weight

Post Date: February 15, 2025
  Key points  Portfolio up 11.5%.   Benchmark performance: UK (FTSE100) +9.7%, but risk adjusted global benchmark (based on my 88%/12% equity/cash allocation) +18.6%.   Relative performance reflects conservative strategy of preservation of wealth, home country bias and AIM bias.  Portfolio allocation  30% index trackers, 33% direct shares, 19% funds and Investment Trusts, 12% cash/bonds, 2% VCTs.    50% UK, 33% US, 13% other geographies. Red flag re home country bias.  Decided to allocate 20-30% of portfolio to bonds/cash accounts. Started to implement plan.   Exposed ...
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Business Relief? Perhaps, but at what cost?

Post Date: February 14, 2025
ShareSoc member Mark Lauber dissects the inheritance tax service from Rockpool Investments Hardman has issued a research piece on the Rockpool Inheritance Tax Service. Fair play to them for outlining the various fees, charges and costs, but the more I read the more I scratched my head as to whether this is really worthwhile for investors.   The underlying strategy is to obtain Inheritance Tax relief on lending to SMEs, with loans on a senior secured basis via Novus Lending Limited. The portfolio has ...
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