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Will Passive ETFs be the Death of Capitalism?

A growing trend of flows away from active investors to passive index trackers may damage the price discovery process and efficient capital allocation. My attention was recently drawn to this article in the Financial Times. It reports that $450bn was withdrawn from actively managed stock funds in 2024, with $1.7tn flowing into ETFs (though it is not clear what proportion of that ETF money has been allocated to passive, index tracking ETFs). It strikes me that this poses a real problem to the ...

Christmas Present Suggestions

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Best financial presents money can buy For you. Buy yourself a subscription to ShareSoc and learn more about investing, or if you already know all about investing educate yourself and learn more about investing! Or if you already know all about investing and are rich, then just donate the subscription price to help us campaign and represent the voice of individual investors and ensure we individual investors are fairly ...

Activist Intervention in Investment Trusts and Shareholder Democracy

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Saba Capital may be able to force changes due to shareholder apathy and disenfranchisement I read this article today with interest and some concern. It describes an attack by hedge fund Saba Capital on seven investment trusts. The article names: “The Baillie Gifford US Growth trust, Edinburgh Worldwide and Keystone Positive Change, are in the firing line as well as a pair of Janus Henderson trusts, the Henderson Opportunities ...

Abolish Stamp Duty on Quoted Shares

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. Increased cost of capital means tax has negative impact on UK growth Is the UK stock market going to zero? Less than 8% of UK individuals own shares, compared to 40% in Sweden and 60% in USA[1]. This is evidence of the country’s failure to educate, and its failure to create a positive domestic investing climate.   Successive Governments have rowed back from the “Tell Sid” privatisation days where huge advertising budgets ...

Nvidia might be the biggest name in AI right now, but here’s why you should know about ASML

This article reflects the opinions of its author and not necessarily those of ShareSoc. If you are a technology investor or simply tech-curious, you have likely heard of Nvidia. The US giant has become synonymous with Artificial Intelligence (AI) innovation, but there is another key player worth knowing: ASML, the Dutch company quietly revolutionising the technology landscape. Who is ASML? ASML Holding N.V. is a Dutch company founded in 1984. It is headquartered in Veldhoven, Netherlands, and is publicly traded on the Euronext Amsterdam ...