Shareholder Democracy

RBS General Meeting: You Decide!

Post Date: January 22, 2019

I have today published two posts on ShareSoc's blog, expressing different opinions on RBS's proposed resolution to buy back shares from HM Treasury. One from our chairman and another from senior ShareSoc member Roger Lawson. Firstly, the facts. You can find full details of the General Meeting and proposal here: https://investors.rbs.com/shareholder-centre/shareholder-meetings.aspx. If you are a shareholder you should study the circular available from that webpage before deciding how to vote. ShareSoc encourages its members to make their own minds up on matters such as ...

FRC and FCA Investigations: Managing expectations, and Blancco news

Post Date: November 28, 2018

Peter Parry and I now have regular meetings with the FRC and FCA to discuss topics of interest. We met Jen Sisson of the FRC on 23 Sep and...

Soukup Soaks Up More Voting Power at Thalassa

Post Date: October 5, 2018

There was an interesting RNS out yesterday for Thalassa (THAL). Following an amendment to the Company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, and without a shareholder vote, each shareholder was issued with one Preference Share for each Ordinary Share held. Each Preference Share carries 10 votes, and given that they were given out on a one for one basis to Ord holders, it seems fair and simply multiplies the total voting rights by 11. (1 plus the 10 new votes per old ...

Shareholder rights, letters to MPs and questions at AGMs – An Update

Post Date: August 17, 2018

Over 20 members have to my knowledge written to their MPs (as we requested) and a number of members have asked questions at AGMs. We have certainly raised the issue. The Minister (or most likely his civil servants) have produced what looks like a standard response which is being sent to those MPs who contacted Greg Clarke MP, the Secretary of State. Their response argues that the UK does not have to follow the intent of the EU Shareholder Rights Directive and ...

Clarification re Stock Lending and platform pooled nominee accounts

Post Date: August 10, 2018

Kevin Taylor, a ShareSoc member, has pointed out to me in relation to my article page 12 of ShareSoc’s August newsletter, that stock-lending simply does not (should not under FCA rules) take place from standard pooled nominee accounts, the likes of which most retail investors would use. The FCA’s rules could not be more explicit in this area: “A firm must not undertake or otherwise engage in stock lending activity with or for a customer unless … the firm has obtained the consent ...

Premier Foods, stock lending, custodians, shareholder rights and nominee accounts

Post Date: July 25, 2018

The background to my comments is below: KATE BURGESS in the FT on 15 July 2018 reported that accusations of empty voting — where investors borrow voting shares for short periods to swing the outcome at meetings —reverberated around the market ahead of Premier Food’s shareholder meeting next week. They were sparked when Oasis Management , the Hong Kong activist hoping to unseat Premier’s chief executive Gavin Darby, said it had increased its stake in the owner of Angel Delight from 9 to ...

Royal Mail Remuneration

Post Date: July 25, 2018

I always thought that being a Chief Executive and being paid millions was a 24/7 job. I am amazed the Royal Mail could not recruit somebody from the millions of people who live in the UK. I am very angry that the details of Mr Back's £5.8million payout were buried in note 26 on page 144 of the company's annual report and not explained in the first paragraph of the Remuneration Committee Chair's statement. Hiding the pay of the new Chief ...

Whose company is it anyway?

Post Date: July 5, 2018

Paul Jackson wrote an in-depth analysis of the RBS Shareholder Committee campaign and the issues raised in the prestigious Investors Chronicle, 22 June 2018 issue, which is read by tens of thousands of investors. We are grateful to Paul and Investors Chronicle for giving us permission to reproduce this article. A rather strange thing happened at the RBS annual general meeting at the end of last month. UK Government Investments (UKGI) used its 70 per cent stake to help scupper a resolution ...

BEIS Consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance

Post Date: June 8, 2018

We have submitted jointly with the UK Shareholders Association our response to the consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance. The response was written by Cliff Weight - Director, UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc) and Peter Parry - Policy Director, UK Shareholders' Association. Click here to read it.

Investment Association Naughty Register

Post Date: December 19, 2017

I heard Chris Cummings(CC) CEO of the Investment Association on the BBC Radio 4 this morning launching their new naughty register. https://www.theinvestmentassociation.org/publicregister.html The interview went something like this: BBC Interviewer: "Would you have done it if the Government has not led this initiative?" CC did not say YES. CC said: "This was an industry led initiative." BBC: "Yes, but would you have done it if the Government has not pushed it?" CC again declined to say YES. I surmise IA was led kicking and screaming into this by the ...

RBS Campaign Update 9 – Progress as at 13/12/2017

Post Date: December 13, 2017

If you have not yet joined the campaign you can still do so, please click here to download the forms https://www.sharesoc.org/rbs-agm-2018-requisitions/ . EMAIL 1 sent out on 24 Nov 2017 and 80 new campaign members recruited. Resolution and Request for discussion finalised. Click here to see them. EMAIL 2 sent out on 9 Dec 2017 to all campaign members asking them to sign the forms and return them to us. 30 received so far. We need at least 100 ...

Shareholder Rights

Post Date: December 11, 2017

ShareSoc continue to press for the name on the register, i.e. the beneficial owner not just the nominee as part of a package to restore the rights of individual shareholders, who have been disenfranchised by the nominee system and consequently disempowered. See our Shareholder Rights Campaign for more, and to support us on this. Below is some commentary on recent and not so recent relevant developments. You may have seen that Citi have “launched” a new shareholder voting system. It’s a test ...

Shareholder Democracy

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