ShareSoc News

Woodford Webinar questions answered

ShareSoc News Item by Cliff Weight, Director At the 9 March 2021 Woodford webinar, there were over 100 questions from the 947 people registered. Many were answered on the night. Leigh Day have now produced answers to the unanswered questions which are conveniently grouped into 7 different themes. Mello Woodford webinar - questions and Leigh Day responses final (07-04-2021)  

Policy and Campaigns – Progress Update 31 March 2021

In February and March 2021, we worked on: 1.             Woodford Campaign: Leigh Day now have their funding and insurance in place and have submitted their letter before action (LBA). 947 people registered for the joint ShareSoc/Mello event on 9th March which went well with much very positive feedback. 2.             Sirius Minerals Shareholder Group: We continue to review the evidence and hope to move to the next stage soon. 3.             Voting Guidance and Shareholder engagement: We continue to test our new ideas with a pilot ...

VCT INVESTORS GROUP Update and report on 23 March 2021 webinar

ShareSoc News Item by Cliff Weight, Director 117 people registered for our 23 March 2021 webinar and at least 94 attended, much higher than the 26 the previous year at the East India Club. The organisers received much positive feedback, for which they are grateful, and indicates that similar future events should be planned. At the webinar: Cliff Weight did a brief introduction of why the VCT Investors Group was formed and why it exists – to lobby on poor performance, poor ...

Improve Access for Retail Shareholders

Give Growing Companies Better Access to Retail Shareholders to Boost the UK Economy ShareSoc News Item by Mike Dennis, Director A recent survey1 of ShareSoc members was undertaken in conjunction with Aquis Stock Exchange (AQSE) and it has revealed that many individual investors do not feel they have good, equal access to growth stocks. Key findings of the survey1 55% of individual investors polled feel they don’t have, or aren’t sure they have, good access to growth companies Over 80% of respondents feel individual ...

FRC webinars re audit reform

Following publication of the Government’s consultation Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance the FRC will be hosting a series of webinars and roundtables to provide further insight on key aspects of the consultation and to provide interested stakeholders with an opportunity to share their views and comment on the government’s proposals.   Further details about how to participate in the FRC’s extensive engagement programme is available here. The FRC have organised a series of webinars for those interested in the Government's latest consultation ...

FRC consultation on Audit Quality issues – ShareSoc/UKSA joint response

ShareSoc News Item, by Cliff Weight, Director. Proposal to adopt ISQM (UK) 1 Quality Management For Firms That Perform Audits Or Reviews Of Financial Statements, Or Other Assurance Or Related Services Engagements, ISQM (UK) 2 Engagement Quality Reviews, and revise ISA (UK) 220 (Revised November 2019) Quality Control For An Audit Of Financial Statements ShareSoc and UKSA made a joint response to this FRC consultation. The key points we made were: We believe most shareholders look to audits of annual financial statements to underpin their confidence and trust ...

Feedback on the FRC’s Draft Plan and Strategy and Budget 2021/ 2022.

Official News Item by Cliff Weight, Director  ShareSoc and the UK Shareholders Association made a joint response to the FRC on the FRC’s Draft Plan and Strategy and Budget 2021/ 2022. Our key points were: We believe that this sets out sufficiently clearly the FRC’s plans and strategy for the coming year. We are not able to comment in any detail on the proposed budget but we believe that, with minor exceptions, it provides as much information as most stakeholders are likely to require. We ...

Woodford Campaign Update 4
8 March 2021

  Solicitors Leigh Day, whose claim ShareSoc has endorsed, have now submitted their Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link Fund Solutions Limited. ShareSoc and Mello Events present a new free event, Woodford Debacle – Reflections, Redress and Reform from 6 to 8.30pm on 9th March, reviewing in detail what went wrong with Woodford, the various claims for redress, what steps investors should take. We urge everyone to tell their Friends and Family about the Campaign, Leigh Day Claim and the webinar. ...

Press Release 119:
Compensation for Woodford investors
Major milestone hit by Leigh Day claim

  Leigh Day commences legal proceeding on behalf of investors in Woodford case Half a million Woodford Equity Income Fund investors now need to do 3 things:         Leigh Day, the leading group action law firm, today sent its Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link Fund Solutions Limited (Link), on behalf of over 4,000 registered clients. This is the first formal legal step in the group action on behalf of investors in the Woodford Equity Income Fund (WEIF) against Link (the authorised corporate ...

Portfolio Adviser, 5 March 2021
Press coverage of Leigh Day Letter Before Action

A ShareSoc news item by Cliff Weight, Director. Portfolio Adviser carries a detailed report on Leigh Day sending its Letter Before Action (LBA) to Link in relation to the Woodford debacle, with quotes from ShareSoc Chair Mark Northway. “It’s fantastic news that another critical milestone has been hit in Leigh Day’s legal claim against Link. We are delighted for Woodford WEIF investors and gratified that we have endorsed this claim,” said Sharesoc chairman, Mark Northway. “Sharesoc reviewed the various potential claims and concluded that ...

FT, 4 March 2021
Private investors lose out in corporate bids

A ShareSoc news item by Cliff Weight, Director Private investors lose out in corporate bids- Takeover Panel must change rules to compel companies to disclose acquisition approaches sooner ShareSoc Patron Lord Lee is campaigning for better disclosure in relation to takeover bids and has written this excellent detailed article in the Financial Times. There have been a number of occasions when individual investors have lost money by buying or selling shares when they were not privy to information which arguably should have been disclosed to ...

House of Commons Treasury Committee
Future of Financial Services Enquiry
Consultation Response

A ShareSoc news item by ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight ShareSoc and UKSA submitted a joint response on 19th February 2021. In summary we said: A long history of regulatory failures demonstrates serious deficiencies in the way financial services are currently regulated. The UK’s departure from the EU means that the UK can now set its own financial services rules, untrammelled by the views of 27 other countries. We believe that major changes are required, particularly in the following areas: Making the best ...