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.

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Property Shares Spooked by Land Securities and Pets at Home Accounts Attacked

Post Date: May 13, 2020

Land Securities Group (LAND) published their annual results yesterday. I don’t hold the stock but what they said seems to have spooked the whole property sector. The company is a large holder of both retail and office property. For retail property, only 38% of rents due were collected within 10 days of the due date in March. For offices it was better at 89% but that is still down from the prior year at the same time. What possibly really scared people ...

Investing for Income – More Than Just Seeking a High Yield

Post Date: May 11, 2020

Vanishing Dividends Every week brings news of a major company cutting or suspending its dividend: this week, it was BT. For investors who rely upon dividends for income, the search for a reliable, sustainable dividend becomes ever harder. There are no shortage of commentators who believe that most companies should be putting dividends on hold now. Certainly, the story of Easyjet paying out significant dividends on the same day as it requested a bail out from the government struck many as irresponsible. When ...

Ocado Trading Update, Coronavius Apps, EMIS AGM, IDOX Pay, Segro Dividends

Post Date: May 9, 2020

Ocado (OCDO) issued a trading update today, and it shows their joint retail venture with M&S is benefiting from the coronavirus epidemic. In the second quarter revenue was up 40% on the prior year. They have had to ramp up capacity significantly to meet this demand, and they have suspended delivery of mineral water so as to cope with the needs of additional households. The announcement gives the distinct impression that they need more warehouses (or CFCs as they call them). On ...

Nominees and Voting: Easy @ii

Post Date: May 6, 2020

In respect of Interactive Investor the settings for getting the voting and information service are as below: The first step is to go into your account settings, the rightmost...

Justin King ex-Sainsburys CEO – Supermarket Supply Chains, Profits and Share Prices

Post Date: May 4, 2020

In the present environment its useful to get some insights into what’s happening in the food retail sector and how it's impacting the major players. I came across this 10 minute interview with Justin King which was filmed at the end of March and thought it may be of interest to members. Justin King, Formerly CEO of Sainsbury's and now an advisor to Supermarket Income REIT (LON: SUPR), answers a series of questions for the investor community. Justin discusses the supermarket sector. ...

Online discussion with the FRC on IFRS developments on Tuesday 5th May 15:30 -17:00

Post Date: May 2, 2020

The Financial Reporting Council invites UKSA and ShareSoc members to attend an online discussion on the Endorsement Board on Tuesday 5thMay 15:30 -17:00 on Microsoft Teams. The UK Government is committed to the continued use of IFRS after EU exit to ensure transparency and international comparability of financial statements, and the efficient allocation of capital, including the smooth functioning of capital markets in the United Kingdom. This event will provide an update for investors on the endorsement of IFRS for use in the ...

Exemplary Remuneration at Judges Scientific

Post Date: May 1, 2020

I recently commented negatively on the remuneration section of the Annual Reports of Greggs and Avast. Today I read another Annual Report from Judges Scientific (JDG) and it’s a completely different story. I have held shares in this company which is a scientific instrument maker since 2010. The share price then was 327p. It’s now 4940p. Led by CEO David Cicurel in that period, as the Annual Report says the “Management is focused on shareholder value – profitability, cash generation, debt reduction, ...

Dividends Slashed, Investing for Income, NMC Health and Finablr

Post Date: April 30, 2020

Many companies are announcing cancelled, reduced or postponed dividends – two of the latest were Shell (RDSB) and Sainsburys (SBRY). This will hit investors hard who rely on dividends for retirement income. But should they be doing so? Terry Smith of Fundsmith had an article published in the Financial Times today under the headline “Investors: never let a crisis go to waste” in which he attacks income funds. In particular he questions whether the Investment Association should allow funds with “income” in ...

Remuneration in Covid times

Post Date: April 30, 2020

by Cliff Weight, ShareSoc Director Executive Pay is attracting much attention. The issues were well written up in this Guardian article. Insititutional fund managers have been slow to address this issue which is of great public concern. Their representative trade body have produced weasel words with lots of opt out possibilities, eg Chris Cummings, the IA’s chief executive, said: “Investment managers expect executive remuneration to be linked to long term company performance and aligned with the experience of its employees, stakeholders and shareholders. ...

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