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.

Attending AGMs Using AJ Bell’s Voting Service

Post Date: June 4, 2025

How their service works in practice Relatively recently, AJ Bell introduced an electronic voting service for clients, which can be accessed from the Account menu (Voting Instructions) when viewing your portfolio. The technology used for this (Broadridge) is the same as that which interactive investor (ii) use for their service. It also offers the option of requesting attendance at a general meeting, which can be found at the top of the form for completing voting instructions. When I use that option with ii, ...

FCA – meeting with Ashley Alder, FCA Chair

Post Date: May 30, 2025

From the ShareSoc Policy Committee As part of our mission to educate, inform and represent individual investors, we regularly meet regulatory, government and other key bodies. We engage actively with the Financial Conduct Authority. We respond to FCA consultations which impact on individuals’ savings and investments. We also meet with FCA executives, some regularly and some on an ad hoc basis. ShareSoc chair Heather Benjamin, director Mark Northway and Policy Committee member Cliff Weight met Ashley Alder, the chair of the FCA, on 23 ...

Press Release: ShareSoc Helps Clients of Hartley Pensions Regain Control of their SIPPs

Post Date: May 28, 2025

Hartley Pensions entered administration in July 2022. Since early 2023, ShareSoc has been providing support to Hartley Pensions Self Invested Pension Plan (SIPP) clients, helping them regain access to their pension assets. To date, only 2,000 SIPPs, out of a total of some 16,000, have been transferred to other providers. ShareSoc is in close communication with the FCA, who has now agreed to assist in cases where direct communication between affected clients and Hartley Pensions has not been satisfactory. We have already brought ...

Asset Allocation: Index Investing vs Stock Picking

Post Date: May 24, 2025

1. Overview. Where should I put my money? For most people who are thinking of investing, risk is a key consideration. Beginners often put most of their money into ‘index-trackers’, vehicles that simply mimic the performance of one or more markets such as the UK or the US stock markets. This is known as passive investing. Over the long-term, investing in the stock market through funds or direct shares has been proven to beat the returns from cash savings, hands-down, because they allow ...

Press Release – Baillie Gifford partners with ShareSoc to back individual investors

Post Date: May 16, 2025

Baillie Gifford is joining ShareSoc’s Corporate Supporter Scheme, underlining the importance it places on individual investors. Baillie Gifford is an independent global asset manager, headquartered in Edinburgh. With £197bn of assets under management, of which £22bn sits within its popular range of 12 investment trusts. These trusts attract a large individual investor base. ShareSoc is the leading not-for-profit organisation dedicated to representing and supporting UK individual investors. It is a fervent campaigner for fair treatment of individual investors with a heavy focus on ...

SIGnet Launches New Virtual Group

Post Date: May 8, 2025

SIGnet, a national network of individual investor groups, is excited to announce the launch of a new online group. The group will meet during the afternoon on a Tuesday and investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join. SIGnet groups meet on a regular basis, typically monthly, 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. You are ...

Don’t Panic: Why Staying the Course is Key Amidst Market Uncertainty

Post Date: April 25, 2025

Following the recent market turbulence surrounding President Trump’s 'Liberation Day' and the imposition of new Tariffs, I received a thought-provoking email from the investment firm Y-Tree. Their perspective was so useful that I wanted to share and expand on some of those ideas with fellow ShareSoc members. As background, you might also find my previous blog on asset allocation helpful. In our investing lifetimes we will inevitably experience cycles of rising and falling growth, interest rates, and taxation. These cycles lead to ...

Urgent appeal for sponsorship from the Flybe Shareholder Group

Post Date: April 23, 2025

Flybe shareholders have waited long enough – please help us finally uncover the truth This solicitation is published by ShareSoc on behalf of the Flybe Shareholder Group and publication thereof does not represent an endorsement of the proposed action. For further information readers can contact the action group via their CrowdJustice page. In early 2019, upbeat statements by Flybe’s leadership were followed by a dramatic collapse in the value of its shares, wiping out investors and prompting urgent questions which remain unanswered. Hosking ...

SIGnet Launches New Virtual Income Investing Group

Post Date: April 16, 2025

SIGnet, a national network of individual investor groups, is excited to announce the launch of a new virtual group for those interested in income investing. The group will meet on the first Tuesday of every month at 6:30pm. Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join. SIGnet groups meet on a regular basis, typically monthly, 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 ...

SIGnet Taunton Group Vacancies

Post Date: April 11, 2025

Join Our Lively Investing Discussion Group in Taunton, Somerset! SIGnet groups meet on a regular basis, typically monthly, 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. Our dynamic group in Taunton welcomes all levels of experience, from novices to seasoned investors. The group explore a wide range of topics during their monthly meetings, including value and growth investing, charting, ...

ShareSoc Blog

Become a free Associate ShareSoc member