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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.  ...

Stop losses and shorting – Techinvest caught out with Blinkx

Stop losses are a way that many investors use to limit the downside risk on stock market investments. They help to counter the "loss aversion" psychological trait that encourages you to continue holding a stock because you have fallen in love with it whereas everyone else is seeing it differently, or may have some information that you do not. But as that well respected publication Techinvest has just found out, there is a significant problem when there is an active shorting campaign ...

Royal Bank of Scotland – more losses and downsizing

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announced yet another set of disappointing results yesterday (27/2/2014). The share price closed down 8% on the day and is now way below what the Government paid for its majority stake in the business. New chief executive Ross McEwan announced the results after the previous one, Stephen Hester, had departed to sort out another basket case - RSA (formerly Royal and  Sun Alliance). It was certainly an opportune moment to move on. Last year RBS managed to ...

ShareSoc Company Seminar Announcement

Our next seminar at which public companies will be presenting is scheduled for the 26th March in the City of London, with registration starting at 4.00pm. Three or four companies will be presenting in March and answering your questions, which are: - Pressure Technologies (PRES): Engineering solutions for high pressure markets. - Cambria Automobiles (CAMB): Retail motor dealerships. - MoPowered (MPOW): Mobile commerce applications for on-line retailers. - We also hope to have a fourth company presenting - keep an eye on the link below for details. Refreshments and a finger buffet will be provided of ...

RM Plc and a Questionable Share Consolidation

RM, a provider of educational products and services to schools, has been through some troubled times of late. Revenue has been falling and is forecast to fall further after they made the courageous, if long overdue, decision to stop producing PCs. In addition there have been a number of changes among the directors in the last couple of years. But the company has been generating cash, and now has a healthy cash balance (£63m in the last accounts) so it has decided ...