I have been advised that life insurance and pension consolidator Phoenix Group (PHNX), a FTSE 250 company, is holding this year’s AGM in Edinburgh at 9.00 am. That’s a damn inconvenient time and location for most investors. Previous general meetings have been held in London where their registered office is located, although I am told that only one director and no shareholders turned up for the 2018 AGM.
This is the explanation given by the company for the latest venue in the Annual Report: “Our three general meetings in 2018 were held in London. Following the acquisition of Standard Life Assurance, our 2019 Annual General Meeting will be held on 2 May 2019 in Edinburgh, which is now our largest operational centre”. But it’s surely where investors are located rather than operations that matter.
It is undoubtedly time for some standards to be imposed on the timing and location of AGMs because setting a time of 9.00 am suggests they wish to deter shareholders from attending. Why not 2.00 pm which at least would give any shareholder in the UK some chance of getting there without an overnight stay?
There also needs to be more encouragement to attend by the promise of a presentation on the affairs of the company and the attendance of all directors so that questions can be fully answered. Institutional investors should also have an obligation to attend. This practice of trying to turn AGMs into meaningless events needs to be stopped in the interests of improved shareholder engagement.
Going Concern
Auditors have to confirm in their audit reports published in companies Annual Reports that the business is a “going concern”, i.e. will be able to continue trading for the foreseeable future. Any uncertainty in that regard has to be disclosed. But that did not prevent the unexpected collapse of companies such as HBOS, BHS and Carillion. Such events can be very damaging to both investors and suppliers.
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is proposing to tighten up the ISA 570 standard used in the UK that defines a going concern. A public consultation on it is present here: https://www.frc.org.uk/consultation-list/2019/exposure-draft-proposed-isa-(uk)-570-(revised)
Comment: The proposed changes to the standard may improve matters but company management will be absolutely horrified with any suggestion they are not a going concern. For a bank it might produce a “run” on the bank and a serious downgrade of its credit rating. For a trading company it would mean suppliers might refuse to trade with it. As a result the management will take enormous effort to convince the auditors they are a going concern, and auditors will be under severe pressure to agree. Such pressure, when companies hire and pay the auditors at present might be irresistible.
There is also the problem that auditors can have built a relationship with the appointing company and its management over several years. They may not be of a nature, or have the inclination, to challenge management. Unless tougher sanctions are imposed on auditors who are too easy going, when collapses take place soon after a clean audit report, I doubt much will change.
GoCompare
I covered the preliminary results of GoCompare (GOCO) on the 28th February. Subsequently there was some director share buying and this morning it was announced that Chairman Sir Peter Wood had bought shares. In fact he purchased 17.8 million shares – about 4% of the company thereby raising his stake to 29.9% (i.e. the limit before he is obliged to make an offer for the company). The announcement quotes Sir Peter: “My share purchase underlines my view, which is shared by my fellow Board members, that the current Gocompare share price does not fully reflect the operational and strategic momentum in the business. I’m particularly excited about our weflip brand and the potential opportunities it offers. If we deliver on our wider Savings as a Service strategy it will be brilliant for savers everywhere, reinforcing my decision to increase my holding to 29.9%.”
The share price jumped 7% this morning, but if there is a big buyer then there is also a big seller of course. However, insiders might have a better view of the future prospects for the business.
Note: I do hold GoCompare. I do not hold Phoenix.
Roger Lawson (Twitter: https://twitter.com/RogerWLawson )
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