AGMs

Hikma Pharmaceuticals (HIK) AGM Report 2024

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc.  AGM Date: 25th April 2024 Location: Sofitel Hotel (Wellington Place, London) Equidistant from Piccadilly Circus & Charing Cross Tube Stations. Timing: 11:00 a.m. Format: Coffee & biscuits in advance of the meeting with plenty of senior staff mingling with the shareholders, and Company reports freely available. This was followed by the meeting, which consisted of a CEO presentation of the year’s highlights, current situation and outlook, questions, the formal votes; and ...

Taylor Wimpey (TW.) AGM 2024

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc.  AGM Date: 23rd April 2024 Location: Crown Plaza Hotel (Gerrards Cross) which is the hotel closest to their Head Office suitable for such a meeting. Plenty of free parking. Very handy for the M40 and a short taxi ride from Gerrards Cross or Beaconsfield stations. Timing: 10:30 a.m. Format: Coffee & biscuits in advance of the meeting with plenty of senior staff mingling with the shareholders, followed by the meeting, which ...

M&S Shareholder Rights Petition: A Postmortem

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. With 4,292 signatures, the M&S petition failed to meet the threshold The M&S Shareholder Rights Petition, led by Archie Norman and supported by ShareSoc, UKSA, The QCA and Equiniti, has closed after failing to meet the threshold of 10,000 signatures for a government review and 100,000 signatures for a parliamentary debate. The petition aimed to help more investors engage with UK plcs by modernising the Companies Act, specifically: Giving beneficial ...

M&S AGM Report 2023

By Cliff Weight, ShareSoc member and M&S Shareholder. This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc.  Quick, Slick 87 minute AGM. Short and Sweet. Sugar and Spice and All Things Nice. Background: M&S performance  With the M&S (MKS) share price increased by 40% over the past 12 months, it was likely to be a nice AGM with relatively little shareholder dissent. However, long term shareholders will remember M&S hit its peak of £6.98 in 2007, crashed to £2.08 ...

FCA Annual Meeting 10am 15 September – Virtual Meeting

This meeting is open to all. You can register here: https://webinars.fca.org.uk/annual-public-meeting-2022 You can also submit questions if you wish. I have submitted a question on behalf of ShareSoc: ShareSoc, a not for profit independent organisation, dedicated to supporting individual investors, has made a considerable investment in producing an attractive video series, designed to help new investors. Will the FCA help to promote this series, to ensure that the general public is well informed about the basic principles of sound investment practice? Will you meet with ShareSoc ...

How to ask Questions at AGMs

The furore caused by a few grumpy old misogynistic men asking questions at the Aviva AGM is huge. It casts a terrible image and is totally unrepresentative of the vast majority of individual investors who are professional and courteous. ShareSoc totally disapproves of the appalling conduct of certain shareholders at the Aviva AGM. See https://www.ft.com/content/01b723f1-1a7b-4096-86be-95148eb8aca0 (subscription required)   and https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/markets/article-10806369/Aviva-boss-hit-misogyny-City-sexism-storm-AGM.html Amanda Blanc said: 'After 30-plus years in financial services, I am pretty used to sexist and derogatory comments. 'Sadly, just like many other women in ...

Policy and Campaigns – Progress Update 04 April 2022

Policy and Campaigns – Progress Update 4 April 2022 Since our last update in November 2021 (see page 16 here), we have worked on: 1. Consultation responses and government lobbying 2. Woodford Campaign 3. Voting Guidance and Shareholder Engagement 4. Shareholder Rights/Nominees 5. SVS/ITI 6. FCA liaison 7. FRC, BEIS, etc liaison 8. Campaigns 9. AIM regulation 1. Consultation responses and government lobbying. This continues to be a major area of work, where ShareSoc represents the interests of individual investors. We have submitted responses to: • FRC Endorsement Board – Draft Endorsement Criteria ...

IMB – Imperial Brands Company Information and Vote Guidance 2022

by Cliff Weight, Director, ShareSoc. These are my personal views and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. ShareSoc  introduced this new added value voting information service, for Full Members only in 2021, providing background information on leading companies and AGM vote guidance. Initially we are piloting this for FTSE30 companies, plus a few others in the FTSE100. We have decided to continue the pilot in 2022 and are looking at ways to improve our services to members. I do not own shares in ...

Policy and Campaigns – Progress Update 20 Dec 2021

Since Oct 12 (see previous update here), we have worked on: Audit and Governance reform: many members have told us of their concerns about the disasters at Carillion and many others. We view the audit and governance reforms as crucial and have pressed for these to be moved forward as quickly as possible. We are concerned about lobbying to slow down this progress and co-signed a letter to the FT which was published on 12 Nov. 21. Woodford Campaign: ...

Laggard DotDigital: how not to run an AGM

The views expressed in this article are those of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. I have been a shareholder of DotDigital for 8 years now and I was appalled by the manner in which the virtual AGM that I have just attended was conducted. Shareholders were advised that in person attendance would not be possible, so a virtual AGM would be provided via the Investor-Meet-Company (IMC) platform. I duly completed the necessary formalities and looked forward to asking my questions ...