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FCA Reviews Open Ended Funds with Illiquid Assets

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is reviewing open ended funds that invest in such illiquid assets as property and infrastructure. It also potentially affects investments in private equity, unlisted securities and special purpose vehicles. If you recall, only a few months ago a number of property funds had to close to redemptions, i.e. investors could not get their money back, simply because of a minor panic over the impact of the Brexit Referendum vote. Although such funds do keep a cash ...

High Court Rejects Dee Valley Takeover Challenge

Small water company Dee Valley has been the subject of a bid from Severn Trent Water via a scheme of arrangement. An attempt to block it by those opposed acquiring a block of shares and then distributing them to many supporters (mainly employees we understand) has been rejected by the High Court. In the case of a scheme of arrangement, more than 50% in number of the shareholders have to support the offer, as well as 75% of shareholders by value. In ...

Alliance Trust Voting Recommendations

ShareSoc has issued the following note to supporters of the Alliance Trust Shareholder Action Group: Shareholders in Alliance Trust should have received a Notice of a General Meeting on the 28th February. It includes 4 resolutions covering the change in investment approach and the proposed share buy back of shares held by Elliott. Our recommendation is that shareholders vote "FOR" all the resolutions. The Alliance Trust Shareholder Action Group is satisfied that the new Board of Directors has made good progress in revitalising the ...

Brexit, Industrial Strategy and Productivity

What next now that we are committed to Brexit? Well first we need an "industrial strategy" to help us develop a new place in the world and possibly to pay for the up to £60 billion that might be demanded by the EU (as settlement for outstanding commitments if you believe that - yes divorce can be expensive). Now it just so happens that the Government has just published a Green Paper entitled "Building our Industrial Strategy" on that topic which ...