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.
If you would like to be notified about new posts to our blog you can opt-in to our Weekly Wrap-Up Email service. If you are a member of ShareSoc select the “Weekly Wrap-Up Email” option here. If you are not a member select the “Information and Education Services” option here.
It is some time since ShareSoc mentioned the Core VCTs in 2015, https://www.sharesoc.org/blog/company-news/governance-in-investment-trusts-alliance-trust-baronsmead-vct-3-and-the-core-vcts/ but due to the hard work behind the scenes by Nigel Sommerville, Tim Grattan, Robin Goodfellow and others, it looks like progress is about to happen.
Nigel has written up the latest developments with ShareProphets click here to read (it is free - outside their paywall) https://www.shareprophets.com/views/59458/core-vcts-a-vote-is-called-if-you-or-someone-you-know-held-these-then-please-read
The Times wrote about Core on 7 Dec https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/investor-sues-over-cheap-asset-sales-n0wkxqk3f (behind a paywall).
Cliff Weight, ShareSoc, Director
DISCLOSURE: I have never owned shares in Core. I have ...
This article represents the views of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc.
Interactive Investor have announced that they are being acquired by Abrdn (fka Aberdeen Standard Life), reportedly for £1.5 billion. Interactive Investor have been providing a popular and low-cost share dealing platform for private investors and have been owned by JC Flowers recently. Interactive acquired The Share Centre a few months back and now have about 400,000 clients.
At least it looks like Interactive Investor clients won’t have to learn ...
If a parent, grandparent or guardian had invested a one-off £1,000 in the average investment company for a child 18 years ago, it would now be worth an impressive £7,740 (a 674% return), or annualised return of 12.0%.
This performance data, for the average investment company, is the % share price total return for the weighted average investment company (excluding VCTs). Ten-year performance is from 27/11/2011 to 26/11/2021. Eighteen-year performance is from 27/11/2003 to 26/11/2021. Source: AIC/Morningstar.
These are the key points ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
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”. ...
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 ...
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 ...
