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Problems at Alliance Trust Savings

An article in FTAdviser has reported a number of problems with the new technology platform being implemented by Alliance Trust Savings (ATS). They decided a couple of years ago to upgrade to a new software platform so as to improve the service to clients, but there have clearly been some major teething troubles. For example, one IFA said that the first and only time she put a client on the new platform had been a disaster. She said "the platform had been ...

Companies House About Face

According to a Commons statement issued by the BEIS Government Department, Companies House has decided not to remove company records after six years as previously proposed (and even before a formal consultation took place). ShareSoc did write to Companies House objecting and Private Eye did a good job of publicising the issue. Retaining Companies House records is important if one wants to see the track record of company directors and the companies with which they were involved. So this is at ...

FCA Proposes to Clamp Down on CFDs

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is proposing to clamp down on CFDs (contracts for difference) and similar financial products such as binary bets. CFDs are complex financial products that have historically been used by sophisticated traders. But they have been growing rapidly in usage by small retail "investors" and the FCA reports that 82% of them lose money based on a review of such accounts. CFDs are a way of acquiring an interest in a listed company without paying stamp duty. It ...

The Battle for Dee Valley – Shareholders Need to Vote

A bidding war for smallish water company Dee Valley Group (DVW) broke out some weeks ago. The two bidders are Ancala (Ancala Formia Ltd) and Severn Trent Water Ltd. Although the Ancala bid was initially recommended by Dee Valley, the later Severn Trent offer is significantly higher so the recommendation was changed to support them. However, one problem is that Dee Valley has a high proportion of retail shareholders, many of whom hold their shares in nominee accounts, and it is necessary ...

RBS Settlement Announced – But Why Has the FCA Done Nothing?

The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have announced a settlement of the litigation over the rights issue in 2008 with three out of the five investor groups who were pursuing the company. They have reserved £800 million to settle all the claims and are continuing to negotiate with the remaining litigants. But private investors may be reluctant to settle because of the high legal costs that will erode any settlement, the low value of the settlement (the claims were originally estimated ...