The
United Kingdom Shareholders Association (known as “UKSA”) was formed
in 1992 to support and to represent the views of private (ie. non institutional)
shareholders. It does this by providing investment education and conveying
your views to the boards of British companies, to the Government, to the
Stock Exchange, to the media and to other bodies.
UKSA also campaigns to:
• protect your rights as a shareholder
• improve standards of corporate governance
• ensure a fair market and fair tax treatment for private investors
Here are some words from our co-founder, Donald Butcher:
“More
and more private shareholders have justifiably become concerned about the
way companies are run, and the lack of accountability of boards to
shareholders. Evidence of this can be seen in the controversies over
directors’ pay, creative accounting, the role of auditors and non-executive
directors, and the conduct of AGMs. UKSA
was formed
to help all private shareholders carry out their ownership responsibilities
more effectively and to monitor the rules governing the trading and owning
of shares. We think improvements will only come from shareholders acting
together.”
UKSA is
a "non-profit organisation" run primarily by
volunteers and funded mainly by subscriptions and donations from individual
members – our only loyalty is to our members. The organisation is managed by a Board of Directors (which acts
as an Executive Committee) who are elected by a ballot of
all members. There are also strong regional groups who organise many of our
meetings and events. Refer to the
Contact page
for more details of the organisation structure.
UKSA’s programme of activities
includes a regular newsletter (see the Newsletter page), regional and
national meetings, company “analyst” visits where you can learn a lot from
meeting their senior executives, and other social events (see the
Events
page). We also develop policies and promote them to a wide range of
organisations (see the Policies page).
Often companies are run more for the benefit of management than they are for
shareholders, and major shareholders such as institutions can act contrary
to the interests of smaller shareholders. National government, the European
Community and other organisations such as the Stock Exchange also tend to
favour the views of institutions over those of the individual shareholder.
By making your voice heard, we can make a difference.
Where particular issues arise in the regulatory environment or there are
difficulties in particular companies, we can and do support “action groups”
to raise the profile of objectors. Often individuals do not know how to
complain, or what their rights are. We can help in that respect and put you
in touch with people of the same mind. Refer to the Companies page for
coverage of specific company news or controversies.
UKSA also works to promote good
investment practice for private investors in the UK. We aim to educate members in
investment management, but note that we do not provide individual investment
advice (see the Legal page for disclaimers in that regard and other terms of
use of this web site).
More details of our policy initiatives and educational activities can be
seen on the Policies, and Education pages. The
Links page contains links to
other web sites that may be of interest to members.
To learn more about the benefits of joining UKSA, please go to the
Membership page.
A copy of our Membership Leaflet that you can print as a PDF document is
present at: Membership_Leaflet
More information on
what UKSA campaigns for can been obtained by reading the article on the
following page: Investors Chronicle Article. |
