ShareSoc Director Spotlight – Mark Northway

Why did I join the ShareSoc board?

My professional background is investment banking. In 2016, I was working part-time for a fledgling asset manager and looking to build a portfolio of non-executive directorships. I saw an advertisement for the chair role at ShareSoc and realised I knew one of the existing directors. The role sounded intriguing and offered an opportunity to contribute towards improving the UK’s investment framework. 

I chaired the organisation for five years, stepping down to a director role in 2021; I now focus primarily on ShareSoc’s policy and campaigns activities. 

I believe ShareSoc plays an essential role in protecting the interests of individual investors in the UK. This country has historically led from the front in matters of governance and of shareholder democracy, but successive governments have allowed that leadership to be whittled away by market forces. We are here to remind government, regulators, financial services providers and issuers of the critical importance of individual investors and of the need for fair and transparent markets. 

How do I think ShareSoc’s volunteer directors shape the organisation’s values and campaigns?

ShareSoc is a not-for-profit organisation whose activities are largely carried out by volunteers and by unpaid directors. This colours everything we do and minimises conflict of interest.  

I’m always impressed by the amount of time my colleagues are prepared to commit to improve the investment landscape and to encourage fledgling investors to spread their wings. 

I’m also hugely grateful to John Lee, Lord Lee of Trafford, for his long-term patronage. He has brought a level of credibility and access which we could previously only have dreamt of, and he never tires of encouraging stock market investment and of supporting ShareSoc. 

How have I seen ShareSoc evolve?

When I joined ShareSoc a decade ago, it was noisy and unfocussed, hurling criticism at everyone and everything. Over the past decade, the organisation has grown, matured, and acquired gravitas such that it is now taken seriously by government bodies, legislators, brokers, platforms and issuers. We still campaign and we still criticise, but only where warranted. ShareSoc punches well above its weight in terms of influence. 

It’s very exciting to see a new influx of young, enthusiastic directors coming on board under Heather Benjamin’s capable oversight. 

Going forward, we need many more paying members to allow us to fulfil our mandate. 

What’s one insight I would pass on to newer investors?

Stock picking is enjoyable and intellectually fascinating, but it can be very hit and miss. There are plenty of studies that underline how difficult it is to beat the market, so the first step to investing should be broad exposure to markets (index funds and ETFs), followed by gradual allocation to single stocks (or active funds).  Never be swayed by stock tips and always do your homework – starting with the ShareSoc Investor Academy.     

Policy and campaigns are central to ShareSoc. Which investor rights issues do I see as top priority in the current legal landscape?

The protection and delivery of shareholder rights has always been our core policy focus. The Companies Act 2006 is a complex but subtle piece of legislation that recognises the agency role of company boards and sets out the delicate system of checks and balances that allow the owners of companies to hold their boards to account. But the legislation has been undermined by the development of nominee shareholding structures that break the link between a company and its shareholders in both directions and undermine the governance framework. 

We are now at an inflection point, where the process of dematerialising UK shares presents an opportunity to revisit the facilitation of shareholder rights by intermediaries. We are fortunate that the process is spearheaded on behalf of HM Treasury by Mark Austin CBE, a lawyer with a clear understanding of the opportunity. Through our chair, Heather Benjamin, ShareSoc is directly involved in the DEMAT process, representing the voice of the individual investor. It’s important work.