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National Grid AGM, Rensburg AIM VCT and Stocktrade

I attended the National Grid Annual General Meeting in Birmingham yesterday. Unfortunately, I was not allowed to ask a question as the organisation that I was representing as a proxy put my son's name on it rather than mine so I was only allowed in as a "guest". It was not a particularly exciting event this year. Not a single shareholder complained about the outrageously high pay of the executive directors. The Chairman was both dogmatic and condescending to the mainly ...

VCT/EIS Changes and Rensburg AIM VCT

The Summer Budget announced changes to the qualifying investments for Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and EIS investments. Some of changes and their impact were not immediately apparent but have come to light since. The rules will effectively be tightened to keep them focussed on early stage companies. For example for VCTs the investee companies will need to have been trading less than 10 years (or 7 years if they are not "knowledge intensive" businesses) and management buy-outs will be discouraged. The details ...

Foresight 4 “C” Shareholders Object

Shareholders in the "C" fund of Foresight 4 VCT are unhappy with the conversion of their shares to Ordinary shares. These holders are former investors in the Acuity VCTs. They feel the conversion is being done on inequitable terms for the "C" shareholders. Put at its simplest, C shareholders are aggrieved that free and surplus cash in the C fund has not been paid out to them as a dividend before conversion. A large portion of surplus cash within existing C shares ...

The Budget – How Will It Affect Private Investors?

George Osborne announced the Government's Budget yesterday (8/7/2015). These were the main changes that might affect individual investors: - Personal income tax allowance will rise from £10,600 to £11,000 in 2016-17. The Higher Rate Threshold will increase to £42,385 in 2015-16 with further increases in subsequent years. - Dividend taxation will be substantially changed. Dividend tax credits will be abolished and be replaced by a new Dividend Tax Allowance of £5,000 with tax rates on dividend income above that at 7.5% for basic ...

Unhappy Shareholders at Sea Energy, Vislink and Blinkx

Perhaps it was the hot weather, or that folks have more time to spare in the summer holiday season, but shareholders in three smaller companies have been stirred to complain about a variety of issues mainly focussed on pay and overhead costs. Sea Energy Stuart Stafford has formed a Shareholder Action Group for investors in Sea Energy. See this web site for more details and to register an interest: https://seashareholderactiongroup.wordpress.com/2015/07/07/action-group/ His main complaints are about 1) Exorbitant central costs which destroy shareholder value; 2) ...