Mark Bentley – Announcement

It is with great regret that the Board of ShareSoc announces the death of Mark Bentley following a short illness.

 

 

Mark was a founding director of ShareSoc in 2011 and an active SIGnet participant. He has been a driving force in the organisation’s development.

He was a tireless advocate for the rights of individual shareholders, dedicating himself to strengthening investor education, transparency, and empowerment. He was a key member of the policy committee and of several major campaigns, not least the Beaufort Securities Campaign and, more recently, the Hartley Pensions Campaign. Mark ensured that thousands of ordinary investors avoided unjustified charges running into tens of millions of pounds.

Mark took an active part in various SIGnet groups and became a strong proponent of SIGnet’s value as an educational and networking medium. He helped bridge the merger in 2019, ensuring that SIGnet’s ethos was preserved within ShareSoc’s broader framework.

Mark also spearheaded ShareSoc’s IT development initiative, delivering the new website, member forums, CRM, communication and payments systems.

Heather Benjamin, ShareSoc chair, commented:

“Mark Bentley has been an inspiring person to work with over the last couple of years and has provided me with tremendous support. I am proud to have known him.

His passion for supporting ShareSoc and its members will never be forgotten.”

Most of Mark’s career was spent in the IT industry beginning with Logica in 1980, where he worked on the Giotto Halley’s Comet intercept mission for the European Space Agency amongst other projects.

In 1987 Mark started his own IT services business, Anvil Technology Ltd, which he ran successfully for 14 years.

Mark became a full-time investor from 2004, having pursued investment as a hobby for some 20 years prior to that. He attended many company meetings each year and published his reports on a number of investment orientated web sites. His annual investment reports offered a valuable and objective insight into the performance of his investments.

Away from the world of investing, Mark enjoyed poker and rambling, and somehow managed to combine all three disciplines into a shared activity with a group of friends in London.

In 2022, Mark moved from Luton to Seaham, just south of Sunderland. He remained an active ShareSoc director and SIGnet participant and has been convener of the National Group and co-convener of the Tyne-Tees group which meets in Durham.

Mark’s legacy lives on in the stronger, more confident voice of UK retail investors. He will be greatly missed.

 

Mark’s funeral will take place in January in Golders Green. If you wish to be informed of arrangements, please contact info@sharesoc.org.

5 Comments
  1. Mark Lauber says:

    Mark Bentley was a fantastic person, he did so much for Sharesoc. He was very kind and generous with his time for anyone who needed his help in many spheres of his life. The world is a better place because of him and he will be sorely missed. May he rest in peace.

  2. Amit Vedhara says:

    Mark welcomed me to ShareSoc as a co-Director and was integral to helping me understand the nuances of non-executive responsibilities, never mind his tremendous knowledge of investing and investor issues which he shared generously. His positivity, selflessness, indefatigible energy and passion has greatly improved the lot of all UK investors even if they may not know it. He will be sorely missed by all of us, whether Directors, members, investors or colleagues past and present.

  3. Michael Dennis says:

    I worked beside Mark on the ShareSoc board for the past 10 years and came to respect and admire him as a valued colleague and to appreciate his unwavering support, his deep knowledge, his energy, and commitment to the cause. He was always there when help was needed and usually with a helpful insight, a wise word or good idea and Mark has done more than anyone I know to help ordinary investors in difficulties. With great determination and energy he has helped many thousands of people avoid significant and sometimes, life-changing losses. I have immense respect for his achievements – he is a true hero.
    I shall always remember Mark’s infectious enthusiasm, his integrity and kindness. He will leave a massive void at the heart of our team.

  4. Jema Arnold says:

    Vale Mark Bentley. He embodied the very best of SIGnet and ShareSoc and worked tirelessly to help the team and our members. I have been so grateful for Mark’s support and advice re SIGnet. Mark stepped in to assist whenever he was needed. Mark was a popular Convener, a passionate investor and a kind and caring team member. Mark built the IT systems that drive our organisation and was the bridge between ShareSoc and SIGnet that helped the merger to go ahead. We will miss you so much. Gone but never forgotten.

  5. I was shocked to read this. I only got to know Mark over the last few years as we worked together on policy issues. May he rest in peace.

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