ShareSoc News

ShareSoc and UKSA’s joint response to the BEIS Consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance

ShareSoc and UKSA’s joint response to the BEIS Consultation on Insolvency and Corporate Governance. Click here for our response.

Act Now to Protect Your Assets!

We hope that, by now, you have read about the threat to all your broker accounts, including ISAs and SIPPs, that the events at Beaufort Securities exposes, which has been widely reported in the press (e.g. see this article in the Sunday Telegraph: www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/05/26/fbi-sting-picasso-scam-collapse-beaufort-could-destroy-trust/ ). If not, please visit our campaign page for a full explanation. Now is the time for you to act, to protect your own interests and remove the threat that an administrator could raid your accounts to recover ...

Protect your rights, act now!

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to regain the rights and protections that you have lost as a result of the nominee account system. I urge you to act now by raising this issue at AGMs and writing to your MP, as suggested below. Probably the most important ShareSoc campaign is the Shareholder Rights campaign, launched in October 2014 to gain full rights for ALL shareholders. Individual shareholder rights have been eroded, particularly by the nominee account mechanism and the way that platforms and ...

Beaufort Client Campaign: Update 2

Campaign co-ordinator Nandish Haria and ShareSoc Director Mark Lauber attended last week's meeting for creditors and clients of Beaufort Securities (BSL)and Beaufort Asset Clearing Services (BACSL). The meeting was organised by Administrators PwC and took place on May 10th. Nandish has prepared detailed notes of the meeting, which you can download here: Notes of Initial Beaufort Client_Creditor Meeting 180510 These notes contain important information for clients of Beaufort, which the administrator disclosed at the meeting. As disclosed in our campaign update 1, a key campaign ...

Beaufort Client Campaign: Update 1

Campaign Status Our campaign was only launched one week ago, but has already generated a terrific response. We now have over 140 campaign members signed up. Unfortunately this has created a backlog of membership requests to process, so please bear with us if you have not yet heard back from us and accept our apologies for any delays. Thank you also for the generous donations to the fighting fund, which will help towards any legal costs that may be incurred defending Beaufort ...

ShareSoc demands fair treatment for Beaufort clients

Press Release 104 - ShareSoc demands fair treatment for Beaufort clients The liquidation of Beaufort Securities on the FCA's instruction is targeting the ring-fenced property of thousands of UK private investors, many of whom are now facing losses of up to 40% of the value of their holdings. The liquidator's proposals bring into question the whole system of regulatory and legal protection of investors in the UK. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) declared Beaufort Securities Limited (BSL) and sister company Beaufort Asset Clearing ...

Shareholder Rights

Probably the most important ShareSoc campaign is the Shareholder Rights campaign, launched in October 2014 to get full rights to ALL shareholders. Individual shareholder rights have been eroded, particularly by the nominee account process and the way that platforms, registrars and brokers fail to provide a good service to individual investors. Often, individual investors do not get informed when a general meeting is going to happen, and do not receive circulars, voting forms and annual reports. And many platforms make it difficult ...

Leon Goes For The Hackney Half

No, this isn’t anything to do with a beer drinking contest or a wrestling move - it's a half marathon round Hackney. Leon Boros, a former ShareSoc director and occasional contributor to the monthly newsletter, is running his first half marathon and has kindly decided to run it to raise funds for ShareSoc. Leon, who has just turned 56, has not been running long and the 13 Miles he needs to cover in the Hackney Half Marathon on May 20th represents a ...

RBS AGM Voting Recommendations, Remuneration and Campaign Update

ShareSoc recommend voting FOR the Shareholder Committee Resolution 27 and AGAINST Resolution 2, the Remuneration Report at the RBS AGM, which will be held on 30 May at 2pm in Edinburgh. After two years of hard work, we are delighted to report that the RBS Board agreed to put our shareholder resolution for a Shareholder Committee on the AGM Agenda. The Shareholders Circular contains our item for discussion and resolution for a Shareholder Committee and the Board's Statement in response on pages ...

ShareSoc Demands Investigation in Wake of Beaufort Securities Revelations

As part of our campaign to improve the AIM market,  ShareSoc Director Mark Bentley has today written to the Head of AIM inquiring what actions the AIM regulatory team is taking to investigate whether scams of the type alleged by US authorities have been conducted on the AIM market, which seems highly likely to us, and lies at the root of why we are seeking reform of AIM regulation. See this blog post for details of the allegations. Today's letter can be seen ...

Conviviality

Press Release 103 - Joint Press Release from UKSA and ShareSoc Conviviality Asset managers need to think again why they missed the warning signs. Shares in the wholesaler and distributor are now suspended as it considers the anticipated impact on its funding position of £30m due to HMRC. This business has looked questionable since an abrupt change of strategy several years ago. The facts were there for all to see. Manifest spotted problems. Despite this, shareholders approved the latest annual accounts - ...

RBS Confirms Shareholder Committee Resolution will be put to AGM Vote

Press Release 102 - Joint Press Release from UKSA and ShareSoc RBS Confirms Shareholder Committee Resolution will be put to AGM Vote * RBS has accepted our requisition of a Shareholder Resolution. There will be a debate and vote on the establishment of a shareholder committee at the May 2018 RBS AGM. * Opportunity for RBS to lead UK plc in the first establishment of a formal shareholder committee. Sweden has 20+ years of positive experience with shareholder committees; lessons can be learned from ...