ShareSoc Blog

This blog gives you the latest topical news plus some informal comments on them from ShareSoc’s directors and other contributors. These are the personal comments of the authors and not necessarily the considered views of ShareSoc. The writers may hold shares in the companies mentioned. You can add your own comments on the blog posts, but note that ShareSoc reserves the right to remove or edit comments where they are inappropriate or defamatory.

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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Electric Vehicles, Pod Point IPO and Bulb Rescue Cost

If the Government has its way, we’ll all be driving electric cars (EVs) soon. One of the concerns of drivers though is they might run out of battery power so the provision of chargers is of key importance in driving acceptance of electric cars. There is clearly a big potential market for chargers, not just in homes but also in public places, at office car parks, supermarkets and other venues. One of the providers of chargers is Pod Point Group (PODP) who ...

Post Date: November 26, 2021 Read more

Bacanora Lithium: Think BIG ask Board to seek better offer

Think BIG, who ShareSoc are supporting in their campaign, have sent the following letter to the Board of Bacanora Lithium. This letter will be RNS’d by ShareSoc at 07.45 tomorrow morning 25 November. Think BIG - Bacanora Investors’ Group 24 November , 2021 To the Board of Directors Bacanora Lithium plc (the “Board”). In this Open Letter we explain our reasons why we think the offer from Ganfeng is not in the best interests of shareholders, suggest the Board seek to negotiate a ...

Post Date: November 24, 2021 Read more

Bulb Collapse, Telecom Plus Results and FCA Globo Action

Yesterday energy supplier Bulb collapsed and was put into Special Administration. Bulb has 1.7 million customers and is the largest of 20 alternative energy suppliers to go bust recently. Most of their customers have been taken on by other suppliers but apparently nobody was willing to take on Bulb’s so effectively the company has been nationalised. These companies have all been hit by the rapid rise in gas prices while the price cap imposed by Ofgem meant they could not raise their ...

Post Date: November 24, 2021 Read more

The Death of Coal Mining and the Nuclear Alternative

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Boris Johnson has said that the Glasgow climate deal is a "game-changing agreement" which sounds "the death knell for coal power". Let us hope so. My father worked down a pit in Nottinghamshire in his early life and was all for replacing coal power stations by nuclear power. Coal mining is not just a great creator of pollution but is also positively dangerous for the ...

Post Date: November 19, 2021 Read more

FT publishes Audit Reform Letter signed by ShareSoc and UKSA

The FT has published our letter about "Letter: Investors are let down by the decision to dilute boardroom rules" see https://www.ft.com/content/ff6af1c7-6cb9-4fd8-9be0-43c11bcf89bb The letter we wrote was as follows: Sir Many investors will be disappointed to read the article headed “Backlash spurs dilution of audit reform” (Report, November 9). The reforms are supposed to restore trust in governance and audit. Sir John Kingman’s review emphasised that the best way to do this was to focus on “the interests of consumers of financial information, not producers”. ...

Post Date: November 13, 2021 Read more

Alliance Trust Resets Dividend

An announcement this morning from Alliance Trust (ATST) says that the board has concluded that an increased dividend “will benefit existing shareholders and enhance the attractiveness of the Company’s shares”. They expect the overall annual dividend to increase by 32.5% over the 2020 dividend. The proposed increase will be well covered by distributable reserves and income it is suggested although no doubt some of the extra dividend cost will come from capital. ATST had a reported yield of 1.43% last year according ...

Post Date: November 6, 2021 Read more

Bacanora Update 30 Oct – Think BIG send letter to shareholders

Sharesoc continue to support Think BIG. ShareSoc have requisitioned the shareholder register and Think BIG have this week sent the following letter to close to 10,000 shareholders. This had to be sent by post, incurring significant costs which were met by crowdfunding from dissatisfied investors, as the company refused to supply us with email addresses: Think BiG Letter to BCN Shareholders https://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/news/2021/10/14/the-battle-for-bacanora/ is a good write up of the issues and why we think there should be a higher offer for Bacanora. More information ...

Post Date: October 31, 2021 Read more

It’s a Prosecco & Cava Budget

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. It’s a sparkling wine budget – or at least one to celebrate for investors as there are no really negative changes in it that were widely rumoured. At least that is apart from the rise in dividend taxes and freezing of allowances previously announced. Here’s a list of the key points: The National Living Wage is being increased. The Government is substantially increasing funding for R&D. ...

Post Date: October 31, 2021 Read more

National Pensions Tracing Day 31 Oct 2021

From Cliff Weight, ShareSoc Director A friend from Punter Southall, sent me a round robin email and I thought all ShareSoc members would find it of interest and many would find it useful to help them find their investments. Hello and good morning. You are one of just 30 people I have chosen to send this message to. National Pension Tracing Day (NPTD) is coming up this weekend and I’m hoping that you can support the campaign in some way, whether that’s with your ...

Post Date: October 30, 2021 Read more

Good Articles in Investors’ Chronicle

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc There were several good articles in this week’s Investors’ Chronicle. I cover them briefly below. The Editor, Rosie Carr, reported on feedback on readers’ views on taxation. Should the wealthy readers of the IC pay more was one question previously posed and the consensus answer seemed to be Yes. For pensioners it was suggested that they should pay National Insurance on their income and that there ...

Post Date: October 20, 2021 Read more

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:	A new in person group coming soon! Keep and eye on our Events page to register for the launch meeting.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	TBC

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:	An online group for those who are new to investing. Including topics such as how to buy and sell shares, unit trusts, investment trusts, exchange traded funds and diversification, tax and how to save it, pensions, portfolio management and research tools, other asset classes and basic technical analysis.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online using Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are usually held on the 1st Monday of the month at 7:15pm.

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.

Group description:	A long-established group, however, we welcome new applications. Our meetings start at 10:15am with coffee and scones when members comment on their investment activities since the previous month. Generally, each member reports on a specific Company/IT/Fund e.t.c. This brings us to about 12:30pm when the meeting ends, and we have lunch.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In-person at a Golf Club in Belfast.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	The group usually meets on the second Wednesday of the month, all year round, except in July and August when we have no meetings. Meetings commence at 10:15am and last 2-3 hours (including lunch).