Blog

ShareSoc Blog

This blog gives you the latest topical news plus some informal comments on them from ShareSoc’s directors and other contributors. These are the personal comments of the authors and not necessarily the considered views of ShareSoc. The writers may hold shares in the companies mentioned. You can add your own comments on the blog posts, but note that ShareSoc reserves the right to remove or edit comments where they are inappropriate or defamatory.

There is more news given in the News page of our web site and more analysis of news is provided in our monthly newsletter for members – see the Newsletters page.

If you would like to be notified about new posts to our blog you can opt-in to our Weekly Wrap-Up Email service. If you are a member of ShareSoc select the “Weekly Wrap-Up Email” option here. If you are not a member select the “Information and Education Services” option here.


Why ESG-Focused Funds might be a Strong Investment Choice

  Despite a history of greenwashing and historically dubious definitions of what defined an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) qualifying investment, sustainable investing has now shifted from an ethical to a practical financial strategy. Investors, emboldened by new, robust governance of what constitutes an ESG investment (from the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) and the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG)), are increasingly focussed on firms which integrate ESG sustainable business practices that lead to long-term financial resilience. Beyond ethical considerations, ESG-focused funds offer ...

Portfolio Review 2024 – Cliff Weight

  Key points  Portfolio up 11.5%.   Benchmark performance: UK (FTSE100) +9.7%, but risk adjusted global benchmark (based on my 88%/12% equity/cash allocation) +18.6%.   Relative performance reflects conservative strategy of preservation of wealth, home country bias and AIM bias.  Portfolio allocation  30% index trackers, 33% direct shares, 19% funds and Investment Trusts, 12% cash/bonds, 2% VCTs.    50% UK, 33% US, 13% other geographies. Red flag re home country bias.  Decided to allocate 20-30% of portfolio to bonds/cash accounts. Started to implement plan.   Exposed ...

Business Relief? Perhaps, but at what cost?

ShareSoc member Mark Lauber dissects the inheritance tax service from Rockpool Investments Hardman has issued a research piece on the Rockpool Inheritance Tax Service. Fair play to them for outlining the various fees, charges and costs, but the more I read the more I scratched my head as to whether this is really worthwhile for investors.   The underlying strategy is to obtain Inheritance Tax relief on lending to SMEs, with loans on a senior secured basis via Novus Lending Limited. The portfolio has ...

Press Release – ShareSoc & Edison join forces

Edison and ShareSoc join forces to improve access to investment information Investor Relations expert Edison has joined forces with ShareSoc, the UK’s premier membership organisation for individual investors to improve access to listed company information via innovative delivery channels. ShareSoc has been a fervent campaigner for improved individual investor access to information and research on listed companies, to facilitate more informed investment decisions, to exercise shareholders’ rights and to promote stewardship at the individual shareholder level. Edison is a leading provider of Research and ...

FCA Consultation – Modernising Redress

An FCA consultation on how to improve the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) and other consumer redress mechanisms  In November 2024, the FCA issued this consultation, requesting suggestions for improvements to handling complaints/disputes regarding financial services, especially so-called “mass redress events”.   Many of ShareSoc’s campaigns involve situations where numerous individual investors have suffered losses in circumstances that we believe should not have arisen. So, we have considerable experience of representing and trying to obtain redress in such circumstances.  We are lucky to have recently recruited ...

HMRC Consultation – IHT on Pensions

ShareSoc responds to the Chancellor’s proposals on the application of IHT to residual pensions.  Following the budget last autumn, HMRC launched a technical consultation on the implementation of the Chancellor’s proposals to apply inheritance tax (IHT) to unused pensions, upon the death of the pension beneficiary. Note that the consultation explicitly states: As announced at Autumn Budget 2024, from 6 April 2027 most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person’s estate for Inheritance Tax purposes and ...

Learn from the Experts about Investing Strategies

Money Maze Podcast - Kintbury Capital's Long-Short European Equity Strategy with Chris Dale, Founder & CIO I was lucky enough to be playing golf with Chris Dale early in January and shared a beer afterwards. We talked a little bit about investing and Chris suggested I might like to listen to his podcast. When I got home, I did and found it fascinating. So many insights. I hope others will find it both enjoyable and educational. People like Chris make rare appearances in ...

Portfolio Review 2024 – Mark Bentley

Introduction This is now my fifth annual comprehensive portfolio review. See my 2020 review for an explanation of my investment objectives, strategy, "asset types" and investment accounts. My 2023 review can be found here. In 2024 my portfolio's underperformance of my FTSE All-Share total return benchmark continued, albeit more modestly. My total return was 7.7% vs 9.8% for the benchmark. I may have to review my strategy if this underperformance continues in 2025 - but it may simply be a consequence of the ...

Will Passive ETFs be the Death of Capitalism?

A growing trend of flows away from active investors to passive index trackers may damage the price discovery process and efficient capital allocation. My attention was recently drawn to this article in the Financial Times. It reports that $450bn was withdrawn from actively managed stock funds in 2024, with $1.7tn flowing into ETFs (though it is not clear what proportion of that ETF money has been allocated to passive, index tracking ETFs). It strikes me that this poses a real problem to the ...

Press Release – ShareSoc Warns of Serious Governance Issues in Saba Capital’s Proposals

ShareSoc, the UK’s premier organisation for individual investors, has serious concerns about the governance risks posed by Saba’s proposals, which seek to replace independent boards with its own non-independent representatives in all 7 trusts, award itself the investment management mandates, combine the trusts into a larger vehicle and use that vehicle to acquire further trusts at a discount. ShareSoc acknowledges performance concerns raised by Saba Capital Management against some, but not all, of the seven investment trusts targeted by Saba. However, ShareSoc notes ...
join ShareSoc