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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.

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.


Platform Transfers – “Progress has been pitiful”

There is a very good article in this week’s Investors Chronicle by Mary McDougall on the subject of platform transfers. I have sent her the following email: Mary, On the subject of platform transfers, you are quite right to say that “It appears progress has been pitiful”. I have done several such transfers in the past and none has been completed in under 3 months. The FCA initiatives to improve matters has had minimal impact. I am currently still trying to get one ...

Restoring Trust, After It’s Long Been Lost

Failings The Government BEIS Department have published a white paper entitled “Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance”. It’s an acknowledgement that the trust of investors in directors who manage the companies they invest in has long ago been lost. And the trust in auditors that the accounts issued by companies are accurate and give a fair view of a company’s financial position has also been lost. There are few stock market investors who have not been affected by one or more scandals ...

Ventus and Ventus 2 VCT – UPDATE

ShareSoc led a campaign fronted by Nick Curtis at the August 2019 AGM to remove the directors and institute governance changes.  There had been concerns from shareholders around the length of director service, investment management fees, performance fee calculations and high management costs. Whilst the majority of the directors remained, Paul Thomas, the Temporis representative, was removed and given the high level of shareholder dissatisfaction (at nearly 50% of the vote) Nick Curtis was asked to go on the board of Ventus.  ...

Mail, 14 March 2021, Extensive ShareSoc press coverage in Mail newspapers

Mark Northway, ShareSoc Chair, is quoted extensively in this article for new investors. The Mail on Sunday and Daily Mail is doing a good job at informing its huge readership about investing in shares and funds. Recent coverage includes https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/share-investing/article-9343095/What-rights-shareholders-companies-own.html https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/share-investing/article-9346497/How-invest-shares.html  https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/investing/article-9358297/YOU-power-make-firms-kinder-Heres-how.html The good news about Mail On Sunday and the Daily Mail is there is no paywall, IT'S FREE, so everyone can read their very informative articles, unlike the FT, Telegraph and Times. Also, the articles include links to the ShareSoc website so this may attract ...

Mail, 14 March 2021, SUPERMAN and #sharesocuk Support Shareholder Rights.

It is good news that The Mail on Sunday MailOnline is supporting shareholders and shareholders rights. I get quoted.... Cliff Weight, director of investor campaign group ShareSoc, says wealth platforms make it so difficult for customers to engage that they are 'disenfranchising individual shareholders'. He says: 'Most platforms don't even pass on information and if you want to vote the method offered is practically prehistoric. As a result they're throwing away millions of shareholder votes.' Weight believes platform Interactive Investor is better than most. Eight per cent ...

Feedback on the FRC’s Draft Plan and Strategy and Budget 2021/ 2022.

Official News Item by Cliff Weight, Director  ShareSoc and the UK Shareholders Association made a joint response to the FRC on the FRC’s Draft Plan and Strategy and Budget 2021/ 2022. Our key points were: We believe that this sets out sufficiently clearly the FRC’s plans and strategy for the coming year. We are not able to comment in any detail on the proposed budget but we believe that, with minor exceptions, it provides as much information as most stakeholders are likely to require. We ...

Mail, 10 March 2021, Shareholder rights campaign featured on This is Money

ShareSoc's chairman Mark Northway wrote an exclusive article for This is Money on 10/03 highlighting the importance of shareholders exercising their rights. Click here to read the article in full.    

LeaderITV Offers Access to All Investors on Results Call

Kudos to ITV plc for making this morning's results call fully accessible to all investors. They did this by 1) making their results presentation available on their website; 2) offering a Zoom webinar at 9am to all investors in which participants could ask questions live, orally. I didn't try to ask any questions myself so cannot confirm whether individual investors questions would have been taken in the same manner as the many analyst questions. Everyone was able to use the Zoom "raise ...

Woodford Campaign Update 4
8 March 2021

  Solicitors Leigh Day, whose claim ShareSoc has endorsed, have now submitted their Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link Fund Solutions Limited. ShareSoc and Mello Events present a new free event, Woodford Debacle – Reflections, Redress and Reform from 6 to 8.30pm on 9th March, reviewing in detail what went wrong with Woodford, the various claims for redress, what steps investors should take. We urge everyone to tell their Friends and Family about the Campaign, Leigh Day Claim and the webinar. ...

UK Listing Review – What’s It All About?

You may have noticed in the Chancellor’s Budget speech that he announced that the FCA will be consulting on Lord Hill’s review to encourage companies to list in the UK and on changes to the listing and prospectus rules. This article gives a summary and some comments on what is proposed. The reason for the review is given as a decline in the number of companies listed in the UK with many of those listed being “old economy” businesses. Too few world ...
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