ShareSoc

Why should nominee operators have rights?

Following a meeting at the BIS Department where I discussed the issues associated with Part 9 of the Companies Act, and our suggestion that all shareholders (including those in nominee accounts) be on the share register of companies, I had some further thoughts on this subject. On reflection it seems very odd to me that nominee operators (i.e. your stockbroker) have the rights endowed by the Companies Act on shareholders. Investors in nominee accounts have no such rights (voting rights, information rights, ...

Post Date: November 12, 2014 Read more

Shareholder rights – the way forward

The Investors Chronicle published a five page article on Friday (7/11/2014) on the campaign for improved shareholder rights under the title "Take Control". The writer Julia Bradshaw gave a good overview of the position of voting and information rights in the UK in comparison with other countries - yes we are way behind most of them - and the activities of representative shareholder associations. The legal risks of holding shares in nominee accounts and why anyone who understands the intricacies of ...

Post Date: November 10, 2014 Read more

Shareholder Rights campaign launched

Last week ShareSoc launched a campaign to improve shareholder rights with a meeting in London. It focussed on the problems associated with nominee accounts and the adopted legal requirement to replace paper share certificates with an electronic system in a few years time. There was an impressive line-up of speakers at the meeting which included John Kay (author of the Kay Review and FT writer), Michael Kempe from Capita representing the ICSA Registrars Group, Peter Swabey from ICSA, John Lee (Lord Lee ...

Post Date: October 18, 2014 Read more

Sainsbury and Tesco (do they need a pressure group?)

Following on from the debacle at Tesco, Sainsbury produced some quite awful trading figures yesterday (1/10/2014). Here's a review of some of the news on those and other retailers. Tesco The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are undertaking an investigation into Tesco's "overstatement of expected profit". Making misleading statements to the market is potentially a criminal offence. How long that will take to reach any conclusions is anyone's guess. The result of such investigations are often reported to investors so late in the day ...

Post Date: October 2, 2014 Read more

Barclays, Tesco and MoPowered

Barclays, Tesco and MoPowered - two big companies and one a typical new AIM company which has yet to show it can make a profit - but all three are under the weather in the last couple of days. Barclays have today (23/9/2014) been fined £38m by the Financial Conduct Authority for failing to ensure that clients money in the investment bank was kept separate from the banks own assets. When I joked in my local Barclays Bank this morning that I ...

Post Date: September 23, 2014 Read more

Quindell judgement

Yesterday (9/9/2014), Quindell announced that the company had won a judgement for libel against Gotham City Research LLP in the London High Court. Gotham simply failed to defend the action or even acknowledge the claim. Gotham had published a 74 page document earlier this year effectively claiming the company was fraudulent but Quindell immediately issued an announcement rejecting the allegations as being “highly defamatory” and “deliberately misrepresentative”. Gotham also made it clear that they had a short financial interest in Quindell ...

Post Date: September 10, 2014 Read more

Outrage in the Cayman Islands

There is reportedly outrage in the Cayman Islands after they were included in a list of "high risk jurisdictions" by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The Islands Government has expressed "great consternation" at its inclusion in the list, which only became public after a Freedom of Information Act request for the list. But anyone familiar with publicly listed companies that were or are registered in the Cayman Islands might not be that surprised. The Cayman Islands was a favourite location for companies ...

Post Date: August 22, 2014 Read more

AIM and other regulatory changes

Effective from the 11th August, there are additional requirements under AIM Rule 26. Rule 26 covers what information is required to be published on a company's web site - for example the listing prospectus and last Annual Report. In future a company must disclose what corporate governance code the company is using, or not as the case may be. Currently AIM companies often refer to the Quoted Companies Alliance (QCA) Corporate Governance Code for Small and Mid-Size Quoted Companies, some use ...

Post Date: August 12, 2014 Read more

Best Execution is Not Always the Best

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have undertaken a review of "best execution". This is a simple principle enforced as part of the FCA's Rule Book that requires your stockbroker to always obtain the best execution if you give them an order. That primarily means obtaining the best price where there are multiple markets on which the trade can be dealt but speed of execution, settlement terms and certainty of execution can also be taken into account. A stockbroker should be acting ...

Post Date: August 10, 2014 Read more

Controlling bankers – public consultation in motion

Controlling bankers is a key theme of a public consultation issued jointly by the Bank of England Prudential Regulatory Authority (PRA) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The proposals...

Post Date: August 4, 2014 Read more

Group description:	This group is open to all levels of investor and is particularly popular because it meets after working hours in central London. The meeting usually has a presentation or group discussion on aspects of investing and also runs a Buys & Sells session which gives everyone the chance to see what the other group members are buying or selling and why.
Meeting Type/Venue:	The venue is near Victoria Station in a pub where the group also enjoy a meal from a typical pub menu.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	This group meets in the evening in London. It is a face to face group that meets every third Tuesday in the month from 6.30pm to 9pm.

Group description:	This group is for those interested in investing in the USA. It is open to all investors with a special interest in this area and all levels of experience are welcome. A typical meeting will have a discussion on a particular market issue or a presentation by a member or external speaker on a subject of interest to the group. All members are expected to play a part in presenting and to take an active role in making the group of value to all its members.
Meeting Type/Venue:	As a specialist group with a wide geographic spread of members, our meetings are held on zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are monthly and are held on the third Tuesday in the month from 11-12.30PM.

Group description:	This group was set up as a forum to discuss companies in detail, each company is introduced by a member and discussion may last one or two hours. Membership is by invitation only.
Meeting Type/Venue:	The group meets at a venue in Waterloo, London.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are from 11.00 until 16.30 and at two month intervals.

Group description:	This group was set up as a forum to discuss companies in detail, each company is introduced by a member and discussion may last one or two hours. Membership is by invitation only.
Meeting Type/Venue:	The group meets at a venue in Waterloo, London.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are from 11.00 until 16.30 and at two month intervals.

Group description:	Group focused on active investing, primarily in small / medium cap UK equities.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly on Saturdays at 10am.

Group description:	Our group is a broad church that contains investors of varying age and experience. We 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. Our members backgrounds are diverse and include corporate banking, engineering, teaching and the leisure industry. Discussions are robust and challenging but tend to be to be informal, and do not generally involve agendas, presentations or detailed preparation.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Our meetings are held on Zoom, although we are all based around London so try to meet centrally for lunch from time to time.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	We meet every 2 months, generally midweek at 10.30am.

Group description:	A small group whose primary interests are equity and Investment Trusts.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Currently meeting online using Skype. It is envisaged to have occasional meetings at member’s private houses in the future.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are held fortnightly on Tuesday mornings using Skype.

Group description:	Most members are experienced investors. The main focus is on equity investments (single stocks or investment trusts). Other asset classes are discussed. Meetings involve presentations from members who are expected to lead discussions from time to time.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meeting quarterly, physically in Central London. Other months (8 months per year) on Zoom.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are generally held on the 3rd Wednesday of the month. The Quarterly physical meetings are from 11am-4pm (with approximately 1 hour break for lunch), the Zoom meetings (during the other 8 months) tend to last up to 2 hours (11am – 12:45pm).

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).

Regulations and Law