ShareSoc
INVESTOR ACADEMY

Other Useful Sites

This page offers a catalogue of generally useful sites for UK investors. These include the sites of organisations that ShareSoc engages with, or co-operates with, to improve the landscape for the UK individual shareholder. Click on the logos to visit the sites.

The Investment Association is the representative body for UK investment managers. Their site includes useful information for investors in funds or investment trusts, for anyone considering doing so and wishing to learn more.

The Personal Investment Management & Financial Advice Association is the trade body for “wealth managers” and stockbrokers. Their site provides useful information about the range of brokers & wealth managers available, offering a search facility to find ones suitable for your needs.

The AIC (Association of Investment Companies) is the trade body for closed-ended investment companies, e.g. investment trusts. Learn more about such companies and find and compare them on its website.

The QCA represents smaller quoted companies. ShareSoc works with the QCA to agree best practice guides for their members and a regulatory environment that works both for ShareSoc members and for their members.

The Pre-Emption Group publishes guidance on the disapplication of pre-emption rights (this was formerly done by the ABI). See advanced topics within this Academy for more on the significance of pre-emption rights to shareholders.

ShareAction is a campaigning organisation that focuses on CSR issues and pressures companies to act ethically. It does this by attending and raising issues at AGMs and encouraging fund managers to act as good corporate stewards, by encouraging beneficiaries of the funds to put pressure on the fund managers to do so. ShareSoc also wishes to encourage better corporate stewardship, though we may not necessarily agree with ShareAction on every policy initiative they undertake, but there is a considerable amount of common ground.

Better Finance is the pan-European grouping of investor representative organisations. ShareSoc is a member organisation of Better Finance. Whilst ShareSoc can represent its members at a UK level, much legislation affecting investors originates at a European level and is better influenced by a pan-European organisation. ShareSoc ensures that our members’ interests are fully taken into account in the representations Better Finance makes.

The World Federation of Investors is a global grouping of investor representative organisations, of which ShareSoc is also a member. With UK individual investors being increasingly exposed to businesses and funds operating globally, it is important that your interests are represented as broadly as possible. Securities laws in foreign jurisdictions can affect your investments and the WFI provides a forum for helping to protect your interests, wherever your investments operate.

The Financial Reporting Council is the UK government appointed body which sets and enforces standards for accounting, reporting and corporate governance for UK businesses. It supervises the professional bodies governing the UK accountancy and audit profession. If a shareholder has evidence that a professional firm has not performed its duties properly, he or she can report the matter to the FRC, having first complained to the firm concerned and their governing professional body (e.g. the ICAEW) and if the responses from those are not considered satisfactory. ShareSoc represents its members’ interests to the FRC in the standard setting process. We participate in “FRC Labs”, which are, in effect, focus groups reviewing and contributing to proposed standards, for example on the reporting of executive remuneration. Information about applicable current and forthcoming standards can be found on the FRC website.

The Financial Conduct Authority is the UK government appointed body which regulates UK financial services firms and markets. It has an important role in detecting, punishing and deterring financial misconduct. It is the body to whom you should complain if you believe a financial services firm or an actor in the financial markets has behaved improperly. ShareSoc strives to ensure that individual investors can invest in a fair and level playing field and makes representations to the FCA on their behalf to ensure that this happens. Information about the rules with which market participants and financial services firms must comply can be found on the FCA website.

The UK Companies Act is an invaluable reference for understanding your rights as a shareholder of a quoted or listed company. It covers matters such as the conduct of general meetings and requirements for requisitioning meetings or resolutions. Users may find it convenient to download the PDF version, which is easier to search than the website.

Companies House maintains records on all UK companies. Investors can obtain information on directors and accounts filed from there. This is particularly useful for researching subsidiaries of quoted companies, or unlisted companies.

If you are unable to resolve a dispute with a financial services provider, including banks, insurers, brokers, platforms and financial advisers, the Financial Ombudsman service may be able to help and stipulate restitution for losses, where appropriate.

Group description:	All levels of experience welcome. A typical meeting agenda includes: – Macro Environment – Trades: Members review existing positions and identify securities with promising TA entry patterns or setups and with suitable risk/reward. Any security, long, short, futures, options may be considered. The convener takes actual positions in trades and maintains his own detailed ledger, accurately measuring performance of individual securities and cumulative activity. Members are notified by e-mail prior to the entries or exits that are decided upon. Following each meeting an updated copy of the ledger is circulated together with the next meeting agenda. Members may wish to maintain similar ledgers of their own but there is no obligation to do so. – Technical Analysis: Techniques and systems used in trades. Members can request discussion of particular aspects of TA.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online via Zoom
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	The first Tuesday of every month from 7 to 9pm

Group description:	Following the launch of the SIGnet Technical Traders groups, it was identified that there were a number of members who use fundamental and other information as their main source of choosing companies to invest in, who would find some understanding of technical analysis helpful to identify good entry and exit points for their investments. This new SIGnet Technical Analysis in Support of Investing group is therefore being launched and we welcome members of all levels of experience to join.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Online via Zoom
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	There will be an initial Zoom meeting on Monday 29th April at 7pm to launch this group, please email info@sharesoc.org if you are interested in joining.

Group description:	A new in person group coming soon! Keep and eye on our Events page to register for the launch meeting.
Meeting Type/Venue:	In person
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	TBC

Group description:	Open to all investors / people with an interest in investing. Typical meeting will involve members talking about recent purchases, successes, failures and possible future purchases. Also with occasional visiting speakers or members making presentations on a topic of interest.
Meeting Type/Venue:	We aim to meet on the last Tuesday of each month in a private room at a pub in Playhatch. Start time 7pm with members encouraged to meet up around 6pm for a bite to eat / drink before hand, if their diaries allow.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	7pm on the last Tuesday of the month. Meetings likely to last about two hours but with informal ‘overspill’ before / after.

Group description:	This group was set up as a forum to discuss companies in detail, each company is introduced by a member and discussion may last one or two hours. Membership is by invitation only and is for experienced investors.
Meeting Type/Venue:	The group meets at a venue in Waterloo, London.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Meetings are on Tuesday mornings at two month intervals.

Group description:	Our group is a broad church that contains investors of varying age and experience. We discuss stocks and investment trusts that we have bought, sold or are interested in and the reasons behind our decisions, and try to make sense of the ever changing investment environment. Our members backgrounds are diverse and include corporate banking, engineering, teaching and the leisure industry. Discussions are robust and challenging but tend to be to be informal, and do not generally involve agendas, presentations or detailed preparation. We are a friendly and approachable group who welcome investors of all levels – we just ask that you contribute, at whatever level you can.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Our meetings are held in a very nice pub near to South Ealing tube station (Piccadilly Line), not far from Ealing Broadway (District, Central and Elizabeth Line). Group numbers permitting (and assuming members are happy to purchase food and drink from the bar), we may also have access to a private room in the pub.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	We meet every 2 months, usually on a Wednesday morning at 11am.

Group description:	Group focused on active investing, primarily in small / medium cap UK equities.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Regular Zoom meetings interspersed with occasional face to face meetings and social activities in the North West.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Monthly on Saturdays at 10am.

Group description:	Our group covers a wide spectrum of mainly stock market investing and trading from equities – which include shares, ETF’s Investment and Unit Trusts. We normally rotate the meeting chairperson (responsible for creating, with member’s help, suitable agendas) and a meeting presenter (members take it in turns to provide a 15 to 45 minute presentation on a subject of their choice). Various investing topics of interest are regularly discussed such as software, brokers, investing categories and markets and any related topics of interest.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Meetings will be returning to in-person in a private room at a West London golf club, close to an underground station. In the meantime monthly video calls and an in-between meeting email group will continue.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	In-person meetings will be held on the second Wednesday of each month in the afternoons, following a golf club one course lunch.

Group description:	Experienced investors who have been members many years and newer members wanting to learn about investing. Members discuss portfolio content and reasons why they have certain assets and investments. Buys and sells discussed along with interesting shares being considered along with current issues in the market of local or international influence.
Meeting Type/Venue:	Physical face to face meetings held in a central pub in Easton in Gordano.
Meeting Frequency/Timing:	Usually monthly to 6 weekly, mid week 12 noon to 2pm with lunch.