Shareholder Democracy

How and Why I’m Voting at Nationwide’s Upcoming AGM

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. A personal view from ShareSoc Director, Mark Bentley Nationwide has chosen to hold its AGM online only, this year on 15th July. I believe that this will be a controversial AGM, so it is disappointing that the directors have chosen not to face Nationwide’s members in person. The chief source of controversy, in my opinion, was the board’s decision to acquire Virgin Money, without consulting its members. Now, I ...

M&S Shareholder Rights Petition: A Postmortem

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. With 4,292 signatures, the M&S petition failed to meet the threshold The M&S Shareholder Rights Petition, led by Archie Norman and supported by ShareSoc, UKSA, The QCA and Equiniti, has closed after failing to meet the threshold of 10,000 signatures for a government review and 100,000 signatures for a parliamentary debate. The petition aimed to help more investors engage with UK plcs by modernising the Companies Act, specifically: Giving beneficial ...

Burford and Woodford compared

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Different approaches from SEC and FCA The Burford and Woodford cases highlight different US and UK practices. In the US, the Judge explains the role of the litigation funder, justifies its role and why it should not affect his judgement. In the UK, the FCA, in the case of Woodford and Link, is attempting to work with Link to allow the plaintiff to settle all its compensation claims for what has ...

People want to attend AGMs in person, so we need to find a balance

This article reflects the opinions of its author, Cliff Weight, and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. We need to kickstart a system of connections for shareholders in our digital age Archie Norman’s opinion piece in the FT 14 July “The bond between British business and society has eroded -We need to kickstart a system of connections for shareholders in our digital age” (subscription required) has clarified his clarion call to modernise the Companies Act. This year, M&S experimented with a digital-only AGM and Archie recognises ...

BP Shareholder Meeting 19 April 2023 – Report

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. I attended the BP shareholder meeting on 19 April, held at the BP Head Office 1 St James’s Square, along with about 60 - 70 other shareholders. The meeting was organised by UKSA and ShareSoc members were also invited to attend.   The case for investing in BP shares is clear. They plan to grow ROACE to 18% with careful and limited capex split 50/50 between transition (green) energy ...

A shocking failure to communicate?

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc An investment trust that I invest in, JP Morgan Global Growth and Income (JGGI) held an important general meeting today. The purpose of the meeting was to approve its takeover of another investment trust, The Scottish Investment Trust (SCIN). I was shocked to read the RNS announcing the results of the general meeting issued this evening. Not shocked or surprised that the resolutions were overwhelmingly passed but ...

BHP and Woodside Energy Announcements

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc There were announcements this morning (30/8/2022) from BHP Group (BHP) and Woodside Energy (WDS). Many BHP shareholders will also hold Woodside following the merger of the BHP oil/gas operations into Woodside. I continue to hold both having decided that now was not the time to exit a major gas producer. Woodside announced half-year results and their Underlying Net Profit After Tax was up 414% on the ...

FTSE 100 Company holds AGM in Spain. IAG tone deaf?

This is the Personal View Point of Cliff Weight and does not necessarily reflect ShareSoc Policy. Cliff Weight is a director of ShareSoc. Cliff does not own shares in IAG. A good, well run AGM is a sign of a good company with a good culture. An AGM at an inconvenient time in an inconvenient location is a red flag. IAG's 2022 shareholders’ meeting will be held on Thursday 16 June 2022 at 12 noon (CEST).  The meeting will take place in Madrid at Edificio Mutua Madrileña, Paseo de ...

Northern Venture Trust and Other VCTs

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Northern Venture Trust (NVT) recently published their Annual Report. It shows that the manager (now Mercia) collected a performance fee of £2.5 million which on my calculation raised the overall fees and expenses as a percentage of closing net asset value to 4.5%. This is way too high in my opinion even allowing for the work involved in managing a portfolio of small, unlisted investments. When ...

Core VCT – another messy VCT

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 ...