Shareholder Democracy

BP PLC Remuneration Policy – ShareSoc’s comments prior to the AGM

In preparation to BP’s AGM tomorrow (17th May 2017), ShareSoc's Remuneration spokesman has prepared this post on the company’s remuneration policy and many other issues. Overall, the changes proposed by the Company,should be considered positive. The discontinuation of the matching share awards and simplification is particularly welcomed, as is the downward discretion applied by the remuneration committee during the year to reduce pay. However, even after the reduction Dudley’s aggregate incentive forward-looking opportunity could still be deemed to be excessive at 725% of ...

RBS, Akzo Nobel and Hornby

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) AGM is tomorrow and it will be interesting to see what excuses the board of directors give for rejecting the requisition of a resolution to establish a Shareholder Committee. ShareSoc believes the rejection has no sound legal basis and ShareSoc directors will raise this issue at the meeting. Another similar case is that of Akzo Nobel in Holland where Elliott Advisors have been pushing the board to consider a takeover offer from US company PPG Industries. ...

Rolls-Royce – Audits Investigated and AGM

Yesterday (4/5/2017) I attended the Rolls-Royce (RR.) Annual General Meeting in Derby. In former years they used to hold the meetings in London but it’s been Nottingham and Derby...

Hornby Requisition Opposed

Investor Alexander Anton previously requisitioned a General Meeting of Hornby (HRN) to have Chairman Roger Canham removed from the board and get himself appointed as a director. Mr Anton has the support of the second largest investor in Hornby in New Pistoia, but the largest investor is Phoenix Asset Management. The long standing Chairman of Hornby, Roger Canham, is also Chairman of Phoenix which Mr Anton suggests is not a good arrangement so far as corporate governance is concerned. Hornby, the ...

A General Election – What Should Be In the Manifestos?

There is to be a General Election on the 8th June in case you have not heard. That has the unfortunate consequence on freezing Government business, with the prospect of changes of Ministers thereafter. Any formal consultations - for example on improved Corporate Governance and remuneration restraints - will be deferred. So the key question now is what would we like to see in the manifestos of the leading political parties? Here's my list: A commitment to ensure that private shareholders in ...

Voting Your Shares – ISAs

One of our Members has responded to our previous note on voting your shares held in nominee accounts and in particular ISAs by saying that when he requested they submit votes on his Rolls-Royce shares the Idealing company said there would be a £30 administration charge for doing so. The ISA regulations make no provision for such a charge so I have advised that he should tell them this is illegal. Below is the relevant part of the ISA Regulations which some ...

RBS AGM Voting Recommendations

ShareSoc has today issued the following press release giving voting recommendations for the Annual General Meeting of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS): ShareSoc recommends voting against the following resolutions at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of RBS: 2 Remuneration Policy, 3 Remuneration Report, 4 Chairman Howard Davies, 12 NED Penny Hughes and 24 General Meetings at 14 day notice. RBS have continued to resist our request for a shareholders’ resolution to be put to the AGM for the establishment of a Shareholder ...

Voting Your Shares – It’s Important!

The main Annual General Meeting season is now upon us and those investors who hold their shares on the register will have been receiving Annual Reports on paper or electronically. If you hold your shares in a nominee account, some brokers will send you an Annual Report or notify you of when an AGM is coming up. Otherwise you'll need to monitor company announcements. But the key thing is to VOTE YOUR SHARES. You are after all a part owner of the ...

Hard Hitting BEIS Report on Corporate Governance and Pay

The BEIS Commons Select Committee have today published a strongly worded report on Corporate Governance after its recent hearings on the subject. Here are some of the key points they make: They agree with the Prime Minister that high levels of executive pay need to be tackled "for the benefit of society as a whole". They forcefully recommend that Long Term Incentive Plans (LTIPs) should be abolished as soon as possible because they create perverse incentives and are often a way ...

FT Article on RBS and Shareholder Committees

The Financial Times have published an article under the headline "Investors fight RBS snub to shareholder committee move". It covers the battle by ShareSoc to get the Royal Bank of Scotland to accept a resolution for their AGM to appoint a Shareholder Committee. See the ShareSoc campaign web page here for more explanation of the benefits of such a Committee and how RBS are currently thwarting shareholder democracy: https://www.sharesoc.org/campaigns/rbs/. One of the supporters of this concept to improve corporate governance and reign in ...

Crest Nicholson Lose Pay Vote

Builder Crest Nicholson (CRST) lost the Remuneration Report vote at their AGM yesterday with 58% opposed (107 million votes against plus another 5 million withheld on a 74% turnout). This may be the first of a number in this year's AGM season. However they won the Remuneration Policy vote. The company expressed their disappointment on the advisory vote on the Remuneration Report and suggested it was profit before tax target for the 2017-19 LTIP. They reduced the target because they do not ...

Alliance Trust Vote – A Victory for Private Investors and ShareSoc

Today Alliance Trust shareholders voted to support the Board’s proposals to change the investment management arrangements and to buy out Elliot. This is surely a major win for private...