ShareSoc News

ShareSoc Advises Investors to Vote Against BP Plc Remuneration Report

PRESS RELEASE 73 11/4/2016 ShareSoc (the UK Individual Shareholders Society) is advising its Members to vote against the Remuneration Report resolution at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting of BP. We consider the pay of the CEO to be simply too high, and particularly so in a year when the company suffered a record loss of $6.4 billion in 2015. Even so his pay went up by 20%. Part of the reason for the high pay was the excessively complex remuneration scheme.  Background The ...

ShareSoc’s response to the BIS Non-Financial Reporting consultation

This response was made to the consultation by the BIS Department on The Non-Financial Reporting Directive: Non-Financial-Reporting

BIS Release Paper Showing the Mind-Boggling Complexity of the Intermediated Shareholding Model

PRESS RELEASE 72 19/1/2016 The Government BIS Department have released a Research Paper entitled "Exploring the Intermediated Shareholding Model". It shows in 160 odd pages the existing share registration models in the UK and the underlying systems that support shareholder rights (including voting). In essence it demonstrates perfectly the need for reform. It shows that private investors often do not know what rights they have in nominee accounts or indeed that there are alternative ways of holding shares. Even if they are aware ...

ShareSoc expresses the dismay of shareholders at the administration of Globo

PRESS RELEASE 71 4/11/2015 ShareSoc notes the dismay of many shareholders in Globo Plc at the rapid collapse of the company. It has now gone into administration so the outlook for existing shareholders is very bleak indeed. Globo was another of those controversial AIM stocks which were actively traded by private investors and where the merits of the company were the focus of vigorous debate. However, it would now appear that the company might have been the subject of a major fraud, rather ...

Alliance Trust Shareholder Action Group welcomes changes announced by Alliance

PRESS RELEASE 70 1/10/2015 The Alliance Trust Shareholder Action Group (ATSAG), supported by ShareSoc, welcomes the changes announced by the company today. Our comments are as follows: The separation of investment management operations into a more independent management organisation (Alliance Trust Investments - ATI) so as to make it more accountable is sensible. It is being given a clear mandate to perform and the announcement suggests further changes might be considered, such as outsourcing of investment management, if it does not. The demotion ...

Private Individuals Own More of the Stock Market

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) have published their latest survey of share ownership in UK companies. Historically there has been a long term trend for individuals to own less as a proportion of the overall market. But the latest figures tell a different story. From historic lows of 10% in 2010 and 2012, the figures for 2014 show an increase to 12%. The proportion owned by the “Rest of the World” (which might also include some individuals) remains the highest at ...

ShareSoc Deplores Withdrawal of Personal Crest Membership by Brokers

PRESS RELEASE 68 24/8/2015 Following the takeover of Stocktrade by Alliance Trust Savings (ATS), the latter have decided to withdraw support for Personal Crest Membership from their clients. Clients will either have to transfer into the ATS nominee service, turn their holdings into paper share certificates (a truly archaic form nowadays which are soon to be outlawed by an EU Directive), move to another broker or liquidate their holdings. This continues a recent trend for stockbrokers to terminate the provision of a ...

ShareSoc Gives Voting Recommendations for Rensburg AIM VCT Annual General Meeting

PRESS RELEASE 67 4/8/2015 ShareSoc has been running a campaign on Rensburg AIM VCT since 2011. Our initial concerns were the investment performance and policy, but more recently the Directors proposed to wind-up the company. ShareSoc opposed that on the grounds that many investors, some of whom originally would have claimed capital gains roll-over relief, would be disadvantaged by such a move. Although the position of investors is affected by their personal circumstances and tax position, it seemed possible to us to ...

SHARESOC INVESTOR MASTERCLASSES

An Entertaining & Educational Evening for Investors Our Investor Masterclasses are intended for investors with all levels of experience. A panel of expert investors discusses topics of general interest to our audience. Topics will be covered both at a basic level for the beginner, and also in depth for the more experienced investor. There will also be an opportunity for you to quiz the panel and share your own views. No matter what your level of expertise, we’re sure you’ll find something ...

Shareholder Action Group Launched for Alliance Trust

PRESS RELEASE 65 (12/5/2015) Following the Annual General Meeting of Alliance Trust where the Board conceded the appointment of new directors subsequent to the requisition by Elliott Advisors, ShareSoc has been encouraged by a number of private investors to support a shareholder action group to represent their interests. Many investors still have concerns about the strategy of the company and about some aspects of its operations. A shareholder action group has therefore been launched and investors can register their interest on this ...