AliceInWonder reveals some AGMs he will be attending soon plus how he plans to venture beyond the safety of the M25.
I continue to be stopped in the street and asked how I obtain details of AGMs coming up.
Like most private investors I hold my shares in nominee accounts, so I do not receive notices of AGMs through the post. I have therefore adopted a system where I know roughly when those companies that I am interested in will have their AGMs.
If a company has a financial year-end of 31 December, the results will usually come out in March/April of the following year and the AGM will then be about six weeks thereafter. I will pencil in a date to search for AGMs -- the search consists of looking at RNS announcements, the company's website, or if all else fails phone up the company secretary.
For companies that I have not followed in the past I will look through its RNS announcements to get a flavour of its reporting cycle. As a backstop, I will look at Digital Look's diary page from time to time.
Colindale, here I come
Looking at my diary for this week, I am very much looking forward to spending time on the Northern Line. Telecom Plus (LSE: TEP) will be having its AGM at noon on Wednesday at its new Head Office, located on the Edgware Road close to the Colindale tube station. Hopefully there will be a good turnout of private investors, and no doubt a few of its 27,000 independent distributors will make an appearance.
I also hope to be attending the Omega Diagnostic (LSE: ODX) investor lunch on Tuesday, following the release of its preliminary results earlier in the day. An upbeat trading update was issued by the medical diagnostics company in April and a new product launch was announced at the end of May. The stock market has reacted with indifference to both announcements. I am hoping to discover next week if there are reasons why ODX is unloved.
They love me, they love me not
Last week I received the following email:
"As I am sure you are aware the ___________ AGM will be held next week on _______. I note that you are not named on our share register and I'm sure you appreciate that if a poll is required at the meeting then it is necessary to ratify the number of votes able to be cast by attendees. I would like to draw your attention to note 3 accompanying the AGM notice, which refers to the appointment of representatives by corporate shareholders, and ask that if you attend the AGM next week you bring the necessary documentation with you.
We are always pleased to have shareholders represented at meetings and look forward to seeing you next week."
My reply:
"Like nearly all investors I hold my shares through nominee accounts. As for AGMs, for my sins I attend many, say 50 a year, and at 49 out of 50, the formal part of the meeting is galloped through reasonably quickly and then we have an informal Q&A session. The voting is a farce in several ways, not least the registrars never being happy with the documentation that the conscientious private investors brings along, often costing them the price of a lunch to obtain.
I am therefore bemused by the tone of your email -- are you expecting a shareholder revolt?"
Emails were batted back and forward for a while, and others were brought into the debate, all good fun. The long and short of it was that an attendee at the previous year's AGM had been a bit of a pest and had not disclosed who they were acting for.
As mentioned previously, the voting at an AGM is often a tad farcical because invariably those who have voted by poll card will usually determine whether the resolutions will be passed (OPD notwithstanding). The key reason for attending an AGM from the viewpoint of a private investor is to meet up with the directors in order to get answers to a number of questions.
Clint Eastwood -- the ideal non executive
For example, here are three questions to size up a board of directors.
First question -- can the CEO sell ice cream to the Eskimos, and if he can, it is a good thing? In other words is he a salesman who values substance over style?
Here I'm reminded of the time Carmensfella (the legendary bulletin board poster) drove me to Harlow several years ago in his Reliant Robin order to attend the AT Communications (LSE: ATCG) AGM. In the directors' car park were some very impressive sports cars. The company was growing quickly, very quickly, and raking up a lot of debt in the process, so careful cash management was critical. Ford and Vauxhalls should have been the order of the day.
Second question -- as we all know, finance directors tuck their shirts inside their underpants. The key question is whether the FD has John Major or Clark Kent tendencies? This can take time to determine as most are shy nocturnal creatures. Patience is recommended.
Third question -- do the non executives remind you of Clint Eastwood when he starred in that implausible film (he was 63 at the time of shooting for heaven's sake) called 'In the Line of Fire'? At the AGM one can look the non execs in the eye and decide whether they would throw their bodies in the line of a bullet meant for the shareholders.
Is there life outside the M25?
Finally, I have been criticised, oh readers you are unfair, that I have been only attending AGMs in central London. Fair cop, I hope to attend a few AGMs further afield in the next few months.
In the meantime I can report, albeit at second-hand, that the JD Sports (LSE: JD) AGM held in Manchester this year was attended by only one private investor, who made the trip from the south. He was able to speak to Peter Cargill, the executive chairman, for half an hour. JD Sports has a market cap of £240m.
I am also expecting a private investor to attend the May & Gurney (LSE: MAYG) AGM to be held in Norwich this week. I hope to report back on how he got on.
Alice's recent travels:
Discussion board poster AliceInWonder1 is a serial AGM attendee and is keen to encourage other private investors to take a more 'hands on' approach with their holdings. He hold shares in Omega Diagnostics and Telecom Plus.
