ShareSoc News

SIGnet Investors Network Launches New Taunton Group

SIGnet is excited to announce the launch of a new in-person group based in Taunton.  Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join. The Convener of the group will be Tom Entwistle. Tom has been an active investor in the stock market and residential and commercial property for over 50 years, and the Convener of the SIGnet Manchester Group for the past 5 years. After 10 years in industry, Tom spent his main career as a lecturer and manager in further ...

SIGnet Investors Network Launches New Online Technical Analysis Group

SIGnet is excited to announce the launch of a new online Investors group focused on Technical Analysis. All levels of investing experience are welcome to join. The Convenor for the Group will be Christopher Pratt. Christopher is an experienced investor and technical analyst who has been a member of SIGnet from the first meeting in 1998. He convened a Technical Analysis (TA) group from 2000 to 2010, and a London Evening Group from 2012 to 2020. Until a few years ago he ...

Shareholders Stymied by Slow Government Reforms

Ludicrous scaling back of orders for shares in JP Morgan Global Growth and Income Trust JP Morgan Global Growth and Income (JGGI) is a rare example, these days, of an investment trust that consistently trades at a premium to NAV, due to its popularity.  Due to the heavy demand for the company’s shares and its ability to deploy capital easily into some of the world’s largest and most successful businesses, the company announced a placing and retail offer for its shares. The company ...

SIGnet Investors Network Launches New West Sussex Group

SIGnet is excited to announce the launch of a new in-person group based in West Sussex. Investors of all levels of experience are welcome to join. The Convener of the new Group will be Leon Boros. Leon is a chartered accountant and former corporate financier. He has been an active investor since his mid-teens. He and his wife set up PEPs in 1993 (a predecessor to the ISA) and they have since achieved annualised returns of over 16.5%. Leon and his wife moved ...

Will The FCA Help or Harm Home REIT Shareholders?

The FCA has finally stepped in, but will this help shareholders or just devalue their investment further? The destruction of shareholder value at Home REIT has been horrendous. Over £853m was raised from shareholders. The latest published valuation of the REIT’s property portfolio is only £413m (as at August 2023) and the trust has net debt of around £144m (as at February 2024), so NAV is now less than £369m. The background to this sorry saga is contained in this article by ShareSoc ...

Woodford Campaign Update 16, 15 February 2024

WOODFORD: LINK JUDGMENT AND NEXT STEPS Mr Justice Richards approved the Link Scheme of Arrangement (subject to appeal) without any conditions. This was expected, given the 93% vote in favour by Scheme Creditors, but it doesn't close the door on the Woodford scandal. In a tight and carefully worded legal judgment, the Judge explained that the “FCA Total Amount” of harm identified (£298 million) relates only to the relative loss of value incurred by those who held the fund at suspension date relative ...

Human Impact of the Hartley Pensions Case and ShareSoc’s Role

The FT reports on the impact of the Hartley Pensions case on Hartley’s clients: https://www.ft.com/content/3e4bbd98-7d99-4dce-93eb-2c747aad1ce5  It’s been a nightmare for clients since Hartley went into Administration in July 2022.  ShareSoc provided heavy support to Hartley clients over the last year and as part of the Administrator’s client committee.  In the comments on the FT article someone asked: "What process is used to ensure that the administrator fees (c.£2k per pension pot released) are reasonable?". In the absence of FSCS support, ShareSoc has been battling ...

What ShareSoc can do for retail investors

Mike Dennis, ShareSoc Director, is interviewed for Hardman Talks Mike Dennis, ShareSoc Director, was recently interviewed by Keith Hiscock of Hardman Talks. In this interview Mike talks about the work of ShareSoc, including its campaigning for retail investors’ interests in particular cases, such as the Woodford catastrophe; how ShareSoc represents retail in submissions to various government enquiries; and other resources that ShareSoc provides, including tutorials for beginner investors, an extensive website and a regional face-to-face meeting network for like-minded investors. Click here to ...

ShareSoc response to House of Commons Education Select Committee

On 24 January 2024, ShareSoc submitted its response to the enquiry (click here to read the whole response), where we stressed the importance of educating about savings and investment and the potential role that ShareSoc could play to support teachers, e.g. via the use of ShareSoc Investing Basics videos and the ShareSoc Investor Academy. The House of Commons Education Committee will examine the current state of financial education in England and consider what steps need to be taken to ensure its delivery ...

UKSA and ShareSoc Submission to Labour Party Review of Financial Services

  UKSA and ShareSoc have made the attached submission to the Labour Party’s review, highlighting the issues with the current financial services market that most concern us.