Education

Lessons From a Failed Investment

This is a premium article, available to ShareSoc full members and SIGnet members. Recent troubles at the AA (AA.) and Petropavlovsk (POG) brought to mind another problematic investment that I am more familiar with and which shares some characteristics of those companies. That investment is Gulf Marine Services (GMS). IPOs by Private Equity Vendors Like the AA, GMS was floated by its original private equity owners, with a premium listing on the LSE main market, in March 2014. GMS is a relatively straightforward business: ...

Investing for Income – More Than Just Seeking a High Yield

Vanishing Dividends Every week brings news of a major company cutting or suspending its dividend: this week, it was BT. For investors who rely upon dividends for income, the search for a reliable, sustainable dividend becomes ever harder. There are no shortage of commentators who believe that most companies should be putting dividends on hold now. Certainly, the story of Easyjet paying out significant dividends on the same day as it requested a bail out from the government struck many as irresponsible. When ...

Elroy Dimson: Coronavirus and the markets

Live Webinar – Tuesday April 7th, 2020 at 11:00 AM In this live webinar Professor Elroy Dimson, world-renowned financial historian, will be sharing his views on the coronavirus crisis...

The Great Crash – Lessons from History

The stock market is falling and it may continue to do so, with the odd bounce along the way. The reason is partly because when confidence is destroyed that...

Social Media Etiquette

Ground rules and etiquette on social media ShareSoc is appalled that threats are being made towards Sirius’ senior management and their families on social media and otherwise. The SSSG leadership team (Chris Spencer Phillips, Yashmin Ismail, Mark Jones, Ian Martignetti, Paul De Gruchy and Cliff Weight) wish to make it totally clear that we do not condone such actions. ShareSoc will ensure any such comments are removed from ShareSoc’s website and Forums it operates. Please note that making threats and libel are offences in law. Cliff ...

Learning about investing – thanks to ShareSoc

It is always interesting to look backwards as well as forwards as an investor and no better time than at the turn of the year. First of all, I...

How Long Will You Live?

There was an interesting article recently published by Schroders on life expectancy. This can be quite critical to making investment decisions when you retire, if not before, or if...

Inspiration from a Young Investor

I would like to commend Ryan and Piworld for recording a truly inspirational video interview, for investors young and old. Though Ryan (@ryankia2 on Twitter) is only 17 years old, he has been investing for 6 years, with exceptional results. He has also mentored other young investors, and offers market commentary on his own website: https://www.quantiumresearch.co.uk/ ShareSoc seeks to encourage other young investors to follow Ryan's diligent example: building a starting investment "pot", learning the basics of investment, developing an investment strategy and ...

Mello Trust and Funds Event and ShareSoc AGM

I managed to attend part of the Mello Trust and Funds Event in West London yesterday and although I had other commitments today, I may manage to attend the second day of the main Mello 2019 event tomorrow. If you have not attended one of these events before, it is definitely worth doing so. The only slight criticism I would have is that getting to Chiswick from South East London where I live via the slow District Line is not great. ...

Learn from experts at the Mello Investment Trust and Funds Conference

Educating investors is one of ShareSoc’s primary objectives. If you have not recently visited the ShareSoc Investor Academy then I recommend you do so. We continue to add to and improve the site. https://www.sharesoc.org/investor-academy/ One of the best ways to learn about investing is to listen to experts and the Mello Investment Trust and Funds Conference on 15th May is an excellent opportunity to do so. Of particular interest may be the sector experts who can highlight the key performance indicators and the ...

The Signs Were There – Corporate Disasters and How to Avoid Them

This is a review of the recently published book entitled “The Signs Were There” by Tim Steer. It’s worth reading by any investor who invests directly in stock market shares, but particularly by those new to the game. Experienced investors will know about many of the causes of companies collapsing, and how accounts can deceive, from their own past experiences. But it’s best to learn what to look for in other ways. The book covers many UK examples of corporate disasters - ...

Want to Get Rich Quickly?

Do you sincerely want to be rich? That was the sales slogan used by fraudster Bernie Cornfeld which attracted many. Or perhaps even better, do you want to sincerely get rich quickly? That is in essence the sales pitch used by many promoters of CFDs (Contracts for Difference). CFDs are geared investments in stock market shares, bitcoins, commodities or any volatile instrument where you can magnify your profits many times. Or, of course, magnify your losses. You can, to put it simply, ...