Tim Cooper

Thursday

6 Jul 2017

How shareholders can help keep large businesses in check

Investors are increasingly turning to shareholder activism to make their views heard, and their campaigns are working. As public trust in large businesses and politicians is at an all-time low, many argue that, in the right hands, activism is more effective than political intervention in curbing corporate excess and poor governance. According to research by FTI Consulting, shareholder campaigns in the UK nearly doubled from 28 to 51 last year as people increasingly used their ownership of companies to make a difference. Globally, campaigns have increased nearly five-fold since 2010 and now focus on a huge range of issues from boardroom pay to climate change. Recent high-profile campaigns have included pressure on BP and Glencore over disclosure of fossil fuel risks; on French Connection about corporate governance rules; and on HSBC over executive pay.

Friday

28 Apr 2017

Is digital financial advice any good? Spectator Money investigates

Financial companies, large and small, are trying to grab a piece of the burgeoning digital advice market. Also known by the unattractive name ‘robo advice’, this uses computers to give low-cost financial advice online with little or no human intervention. It could help the huge numbers of people who need financial advice but do not currently receive it. But digital advice has been strongly criticised recently for having confusing structures and opaque fees. Some also say many digital services are just a cynical attempt by companies to secure money on which they can charge ongoing fees, but are not sophisticated enough to make sure users get the best solution for their needs. So is digital advice any good? In the UK up to 5.

Monday

21 Nov 2016

Ethical investing is reforming capitalism’s vices

Winston Churchill said the inherent vice of capitalism is its unequal share of blessings. Today, the ever-widening chasm of inequality is contributing to a potential tide of political shocks across the West. But it is not all doom and gloom. A rapidly increasing number of individuals are attempting to redress inequalities by using their money to make the world a fairer place – and cleaner one too. In my last blog, I looked at how social investments such as community shares have the potential to transform large parts of our economy. An even more important example, in terms of size, is green and ethical funds. According to research organisation Vigeo EIRIS, this sector nearly trebled from £6 billion to £15 billion in the UK in the 11 years to June 2016.

Monday

24 Oct 2016

Social investment is changing our economy

Social investment is starting to transform the way that parts of our economy work. Social investments include loans and shares into organisations whose principal purpose is social. They have grown by around 20 per cent a year for the last five years, according to Big Society Capital, the organisation that helps social enterprises and charities to raise finance. It estimates there is now £1.5 billion invested into social-purpose organisations, £427 million of which was new investment last year alone. The market is set to get a huge boost from social impact tax relief (SITR), which some are calling the Government’s best kept secret. SITR started in April 2014 and helps individuals invest in social-purpose organisations by offering tax breaks, including 30 per cent income tax relief, on loans or share investments.

Thursday

15 Sep 2016

People look to share schemes to save their communities

Community share schemes are becoming an important weapon in the long-standing fight to save our communities. Numbers of local pubs, shops and schools continue to decline as they have for many years. But the rapidly increasing use of community share schemes to save such assets is striking a new, positive note among the usual stream of negative stories about communities. To give an indication, the number of community share scheme offerings in 2015 was 200, which is more than double the number of initial public offerings on the alternative investment market, albeit that the sums involved would usually be much smaller. At this time of decentralisation – when so many people are trying to wrest back control from large corporations and central governments - community shares look like a concept whose time is coming.