Corporate Stewardship

RBS Shareholder Campaign and AGM voting recommendations – Update 18, 17 April 2020

 RBS could do better! It would be wrong to lambast RBS in the eye of the COVID-19 storm, but we note the following issues: 2020 AGM solution requires voting before discussion Directors’ shareholdings are too small – no alignment with shareholders No information on potential loan impairments from COVID-19 pandemic Market cap of £12bn is too small versus £723bn total assets The RBS Board has in this time of crisis, reverted to type – communication flows and quality of ...
Post Date: April 17, 2020 Read more

AGMs and impact of Covid-19

By Cliff Weight, ShareSoc Director This is a complex area. It would be good to hear your views and ideas. Please add them via the comments box below this...
Post Date: March 18, 2020 Read more

Sirius Update #9, 14 March 2020

The general disappointment and in many cases anger due to the crystallisation of losses for many investors remains. We reiterate the overall unfairness of the deal, but in the end, this was the only deal on the table. So, what next? The Court Hearing on 13th March approved the scheme and it will become effective on 16th March. After this comes the question of legal redress. Here, the process changes gear: time is no longer of the essence, and it is important to ...
Post Date: March 15, 2020 Read more

ShareSoc-UKSA Response: Law Commission Review of Intermediated Securities – Call for Evidence

ShareSoc-UKSA submitted a joint response on behalf of individual investors, on 5 Nov 2019. The key points we made were: Communication by email rather than by post is now the norm and assumed as the default position. Printing annual reports and shareholder circulars and sending them to shareholders by post is no longer necessary. Postage and printing costs were some of the key drivers of the nominee system. A modern system of intermediated securities should embrace and recognise modern technology and ensure ...
Post Date: November 7, 2019 Read more

Albion Venture Capital VCT Blog number 2

Albion want to change the performance fee from the current arrangement (1.9% management fee, plus 8% of returns over a hurdle rate of 5% per annum with a high-water mark) to 20% of returns above a hurdle of RPI +2%p.a., from a new starting point of NAV at 1 April 2019. ShareSoc recommends shareholders vote against this proposal and other resolutions at the AGM on 21 August. 1.9% plus 20% is egregious, particularly when: it represents an increase from historically agreed arrangements and  ...
Post Date: August 2, 2019 Read more

FCA Consultation on proposals to improve shareholder engagement

In January the FCA issued a consultation paper CP19/7 Financial Conduct Authority Consultation on proposals to improve shareholder engagement. This was a technical consultation on how to implement the EU Shareholder Rights Directive II in relation to its Stewardship aspects. Today 27 March UKSA and ShareSoc made a joint response, on behalf of individual investors. We made a number of points, see below, with further background in an Appendix. We think this is important context to our response to the FCA consultation as ...
Post Date: March 28, 2019 Read more

Proposed Revision to the UK Stewardship Code 2019

ShareSoc has made a joint response with UKSA  on behalf of individual investors to the consultation from the FRC on the revised Stewardship Code. We believe that the proposed revisions to the Stewardship Code are a sound attempt to make the Code more meaningful and to give it teeth. However, we have concerns that in some areas the Code is seeking to set expectations on which it will be very difficult to deliver and which could ultimately result in the Code becoming ...
Post Date: March 28, 2019 Read more