Some readers of this blog may have become aware that I was pursuing a libel action against Tom Winnifrith of ShareProphets. Tom writes a newsletter which many private investors read, and he often tackles the dubious activities of some public companies and their directors – particularly AIM companies – which can only be applauded.
Our legal dispute has now been settled and Tom has withdrawn his allegations to my satisfaction. He is in the process of removing them from the web. He has even gone so far as to call me an “underlying good person” in a recent podcast so I am feeling quite saintly at present. I hope readers will not hear more about this matter.
The following statement was agreed by both parties as part of the Settlement Agreement.
Roger Lawson & Tom Winnifrith: a joint statement
Roger Lawson and Tom Winnifrith have agreed that Mr Lawson’s legal action against Tom Winnifrith for libel will not be pursued further. Life is too short. Both men are agreed that nearly all of the work done by each other on seeking reform of AIM and in campaigning against poor corporate governance is worthwhile. There are too many ways in which the stock market needs reform and too many individuals who break the rules that do exist, for energies and money to be wasted on a fight that will enrich only lawyers.
Tom Winnifrith stated: I stand by my assertion that Roger Lawson should have declared ownership of shares when writing about them at all times and it would have been better practice to have advised readers to sell before doing so himself. But Roger acted in line with the rules for the ShareSoc blog and other publications. More importantly I am sure that he did not act in the way he did in order to secure personal financial gain. Nor did he secure a gain as a result. Roger can be somewhat cantankerous but his heart is normally in the right place; he is not the sort of man I want to be fighting, especially as on most issues we are in agreement. My energies should be focussed on the bad guys and Roger is not one of them.
Roger Lawson stated: Like most people I find Tom Winnifrith’s language not always to my liking. However on most occasions when he goes after a company his judgement is shown to be correct and in doing that he performs a valuable service. In publishing the Globo dossier he showed bravery other journalists baulked at and with hindsight he asked all the right questions of blinkx and Globo. Since we agree on far more than we disagree on it is right that instead of making lawyers rich with any law suit we both move on and continue to offer fair criticisms of the London market and to fight on behalf of ordinary investors.
<End>
Part of the dispute was about the fact that I sometimes commented on shares that I owned. That continues to be the case on this blog, although I frequently comment on shares that I have never had any financial interest in whatsoever (for example Autonomy in my last blog post simply from my knowledge of the IT world). Excluding shares that I have owned would not make sense as I often have a deeper understanding of those companies than any financial journalist could quickly acquire. Readers should read the About page on this blog to understand the legal terms that apply to the content and use of this blog which covers that point, although I would normally declare any interest in shares when I write about them.
Postscript: Readers are reminded that I never give buy or sell recommendations on shares, and have never done so in the past. I try to give a balanced view about companies so if I point out positive aspects I am likely to also include the negative aspects. A good example is my recent comments on Rightmove Plc. Whether my comments are fair and accurate at the time you will need to judge for yourself, and hindsight can distort the picture. I am generally dubious about the ethics of those who comment negatively on companies in public while shorting the shares and likewise I do not appreciate those investors who puff shares they hold – even institutional fund managers are frequently guilty of “talking their own book” which I consider a dubious practice. It is unfortunate that the ethics of the financial world leave a lot to be desired and “fake news” is a growing problem.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
You can “follow” this blog by clicking on the bottom right.
© Copyright. Disclaimer: Read the About page before relying on any information in this post.