FCA

Woodford Campaign Update 1: Jan 2021

Below is the first of what we plan to be regular updates to members advising them of what we have done in this very important campaign. Woodford January NEWSLETTER

Wellesley Investors Action Group

By Cliff Weight, Director, ShareSoc I encourage members to join the Wellesley Investors Action Group. You can do so here https://www.facebook.com/groups/wellesleyp2pcreditorsactiongroup Neil Taylor has brought this to my attention. ShareSoc is very willing to blog and tweet about this and encourage all those who have lost money in Wellesley to consider joining the Wellesley Investors Action Group. They have 300 members already which is a good start. But there were 11,700 investors affected, so ideally all should join the Action Group. The  336 ...

0.1% shorting notification adopted by FCA – mirrors EU

On 6 January 2021, the Treasury published the Short Selling (Notification Thresholds) Regulations 2021 No. 5  to amend the notification threshold under Article 5(2) of the Short Selling Regulation from 0.2% to 0.1% of the issued share capital of an issuer. This change will come into force on 1 February 2021. This means that from 1 February 2021 the notification threshold for issued share capital of a company that has shares admitted to trading on a UK trading venue (UK Regulated Market and UK ...

FCA Consultation
Consumer Investments Market Call for Input
ShareSoc’s response

A ShareSoc News item by ShareSoc Director Cliff Weight In our response we highlighted: The need for the system as a whole, including regulation, to work better for consumers We welcome the clear recognition in the CFI’s Foreword that there is indeed a problem - that there are suitable and inexpensive products, but people do not use them enough. In addition, that firms are not generally keen to promote them and that progress is slower than the FCA would like. The market ...

The Telegraph, 16 Nov 2020, Moderna briefed out market-moving Covid jab data before general release

In this article: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/11/16/moderna-covid-vaccine-almost-95pc-effective/, The Telegraph quotes ShareSoc director, Mark Bentley: Mark Bentley, a board member of ShareSoc, which represents individual shareholders, called on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to look into the practice of companies releasing market-moving information under embargo. Institutional investors can use leaked information to inform decisions and this could be damaging to individual shareholders who effectively end up on the other side of those trades, he said. There is no evidence of leaks in this case. Mr Bentley said: “Market-sensitive information being disseminated widely, ...

ShareSoc+UKSA make joint response to HM Treasury consultation ‘Regulatory Framework for Approval of Financial Promotions’

Peter Parry, ShareSoc member and former Policy Director at the UK Shareholders Association writes about the joint submission by the UK Shareholders Association and ShareSoc to the HM Treasury consultation ‘Regulatory Framework for Approval of Financial Promotions' Financial promotions – a case study in how not to delegate. The Consultation Another day and another consultation lands in the inbox. This one’s from HM Treasury - titled ‘Regulatory Framework for Approval of Financial Promotions’. Sounds boring? Maybe, but the issue under review is actually a ...

Laggard Hugely Disappointing That ImmuPharma Excludes Individuals From Placing

I have been an investor, supporter and follower of ImmuPharma. So I was appalled to read that ImmuPharma (LSE:IMM) has raised £6.5 million, before expenses, via an oversubscribed placing of 59,090,909 new ordinary shares at a price of 11p per share. There was no Primary Bid offer and no notification to investors who hold their shares via nominee of this placing nor any invitation for them to share in the spoils. The placing was at 11p and the share price this morning ...

Redcentric: Unprecedented Progress for Shareholders – At Last

Two Cheers for the FCA in the Case of Redcentric Two cheers for the FCA: they have achieved a positive outcome for shareholders affected by the case, and have been pragmatic, albeit after a very long time. It is also good to see the other objective of our campaign potentially achieved - of prosecuting individuals for their alleged misdemeanors. Such actions are essential to deter others from criminal activity. Background Redcentric has been an extraordinary case. They key issues at the time when serious ...

More on Placings – AVACTA

AVACTA (AVCT) has seen its share price rise from 100p on May 13 to 200p and then decline to 140p. I feel sorry for those investors who bought at around 200p. The sharp decline in the share price (20p on Tuesday and 20p on Wednesday) could be evidence that this deal has leaked. Source: Interactive Investor The £25m placing price is 120p, so the fact that the share price is staying stable today at 140p (at 09.48 as I write) suggests, in my  opinion, ...

Laggard Laggards? AJ Bell Directors/PDMRs’ share sales, Numis, Invesco and the FCA

On Friday, 22nd May 2020 at 16:16 an RNS announced that Fergus Lyons (a Managing Director at AJ Bell) had sold 1.25 million shares at 448.637p and his wife another 25,000. Michael Summersgill (CFO) sold 5,000 shares and his wife sold 420,00o on 21 May 2020 at the same price. However, a day earlier on Thursday 21 May at 16.51, AJ Bell announced in an RNS that Invesco "has today indicated its intention to sell up to approx 31 million shares" in a placing, organised ...