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Remuneration Policies and Baronsmead VCT 3

The new Enterprise Regulatory Reform Act requires public companies to take a vote on Remuneration Policy, i.e. a forwarded looking binding vote for the next three years, as opposed to the non-binding retrospective one on the Remuneration Report with which we are all familiar. The latter will still be present, and investors might worry that the former will be a long-winded and tedious document that they will need to plough through (rather like the multi-page Remuneration Reports from large companies). There have ...

ShareSoc Company Seminar – another company added

In addition to the companies previously announced for the ShareSoc seminar on March 26th, we have now added ServicePower Technologies. So the line-up is now: – Pressure Technologies (PRES): Engineering solutions for high...

Crowdfunding rules confirmed

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) undertook  a consultation on tighter regulation of  crowdfunding last December. It was clear that technologic innovation to support both debt and equity capital raising via on-line platforms was often unregulated and that as a results investors might be duped into investing in dubious propositions.  The FCA have now covered the results of the consultation and published the detail rules that will apply in future - which are much the same as they consulted on. See www.fca.org.uk/news/firms/ps14-04-crowdfunding ...

Analysts forecasts and Persimmon

Why are stock market analysts forecasts so varied? Or to put it another way, why are they so useless as a reliable predictor of the future? This question came to mind when looking at their recommendations after Persimmon issued their final results on the 25th February. Persimmon is of course a house building company. So it's operating in a well established sector where business trends are well researched and well known. Indeed house prices are dinner table conversations and the level of ...

Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust reduces fees

The Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust has announced that the management fees paid to Baillie Gifford are to be reduced. They are coming down from  0.32% to 0.30% of net assets per annum. This reduction is surely to be welcomed, and there is no performance fee at this trust. The Chairman of the company, John Scott,  said: "Both the Board and Managers are keenly aware that low charges have a major impact on long term returns especially when compounding is taken into account.  ...