Here is this week's news from ShareSoc, followed by a curated selection from the rest of the financial media.  

Don't forget, you can comment on all these articles and share your insights with other members via our Weekly Newsletter Forum.  

Investor Relations expert Edison has joined forces with ShareSoc, the UK’s premier membership organisation for individual investors, to improve access to listed company information via innovative delivery channels. 

Ruth Sunderland in The Mail basically says Weinstein caught UK investment trusts with their pants down in a well-timed opportunistic raid, but that Saba is not the solution. With only 1 vote left (Edinburgh Worldwide) that Weinstein could win to save some pride, trust Boards should be thankful to their private investors and maybe engage with them more. 

The Mail on Sunday launches a 5-point manifesto that chimes with ShareSoc's own long running and hugely impactful Shareholder Rights Campaign and the AIC's new campaign.

Why Saba Capital now changes tack and wants to flip some investment trusts into open-ended funds is creating questions. Richard Stone of the AIC puts the case for Investment Trusts staying as trusts.

Having failed in its attempt to seize control of 7 investment trusts, Saba is now seeking to convert 4 trusts (2 were among the 7 previously targeted) to open-ended funds. However, investors generally value the investment trust structure, with oversight by an independent board, the ability to use leverage, and generally greater transparency than open-ended funds offer. So, if shareholders value those attributes, they will need to vote again.

Here we go again. Investors will need to vote again, as predicted. In 2 trusts where Saba proposals were defeated, plus two more, their plan B emerges: convert the closed-end trusts into open-ended funds. The theory being that the discount ends up close to NAV and Saba itself can exit at par.  
Saba holds stakes of just over 29 percent in CQS, ESCT, and Middlefield Canadian, and around 11 percent of Schroder UK Mid Cap.

Good news for all shareholders. This is hopefully becoming an investment trust norm - fund manager fees based on lower of market cap or NAV. Brown Advisory US Smaller Companies has slashed its fees and proposed a tender offer in a bid to woo shareholders and narrow its discount to NAV from 10%. The presence of Saba on the share register with a 5% holding is no doubt helping concentrating minds. 

Somewhat surprisingly, the Lords Committee on Financial Regulation comes down against the FCA proposals to name and shame more firms under investigation. The article does highlight that some of the committee members might actually be conflicted due to their city jobs and not be wholly unbiased. Industry 1, Consumers 0.

(Financial Times subscription required)

Finally, an interest rate cut. Not so good for savers and inflationary control, but desperately needed by the UK economy at large, as it weakens rapidly. It also helps keep a lid on the government's enormous interest bill.

(Times subscription required)

Confusion reigns on the accuracy of ongoing costs for Investment Trusts. Zero or not, is the question, as different platforms list differing costs for the same trusts. Madness prevails; common sense does not. 

The CEO of the Financial Ombudsman Service steps down, apparently under political pressure to weaken consumer protections. ShareSoc recently submitted a comprehensive response to the consultation on "Mass Redress Events," a consultation that was due to aid consumer protection law by making it easier to get redress.

(Financial Times subscription required)

London’s stock market is a better option than New York for a flotation as companies run the risk of “disappearing” in the crowd in the US, according to the chief executive leading one of the largest planned listings in the UK. 
Evangelos Mytilineos, head of Greece-based Metlen Energy and Metals, also said the UK’s beleaguered stock market was on course for a revival after one of the quietest years for initial public offerings in 2024. 
Perhaps the doom and gloom surrounding the LSE is overdone?

(Financial Times subscription required)

The Times debates whether ministers wanting savings to flow into stock markets is actually a good thing. Most of today's investors, such as our members, might agree, but to what degree?

(Times subscription required)

The FT jumps on the accelerating bandwagon for shifting more ISA savings towards stocks and shares.

(Financial Times subscription required) 

The present returns on UK government Gilts are very tempting, particularly for those who are subject to higher rate capital gains tax or want to reduce their savings interest tax bill, as both tax allowances have been slashed to the bone.

(Financial Times subscription required)

Need we say more? What really matters is total shareholder returns.

Given that there are literally 1000s of funds, trusts, and ETFs to choose from, The Telegraph attempts to provoke some thinking by trying to distil that choice for you with the Telegraph 25.

Profit warnings by UK-listed companies with traditional pension scheme liabilities reached their highest level for four years, according to a new analysis. As various parties try to access the "surpluses," the scheme trustees are getting worried. We have been here before, and it didn’t end well for those pension schemes that were pillaged.

(Times subscription required) 

JP Morgan Chase, a bank that worked on the £2.9bn listing of Canal+, is betting against shares in the TV and film production company only weeks after it made its debut on the London stock market.  

(Times subscription required)

Why, oh why, would anyone put their money into a tied fund that is in large part passive and cheap Shares and State Street funds, just so they can pay some of the most expensive fees around? Oh, I know... it's because St. James's Place told advisers to tell them to. Proves the point that the wealthy can be just as financially illiterate as the less well-off.

The Times reviews HVPE Investment Trust, the HarbourVest listed vehicle. “Is it time to sell shares in HarbourVest Global Private Equity?” HVPE currently trades at a 35% discount, so is it an opportunity to buy cheaply or sell? Not so long ago they were trading at a 50% discount. Your view will depend on what you understand about their underlying investment portfolio and whether you believe Private Equity exits are on the way up or down.

(Times subscription required)

A rather alarming FT article pointing out that US pension funds' trades are very predictable, and front runners have been making a lot of easy money at their expense. Is this happening in the UK?

(Financial Times subscription required)

China and the US face the prospect of a renewed full-scale trade war as China’s retaliatory tariffs on $14bn worth of American exports took effect yesterday.

(Financial Times subscription required)

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