Great Titchfield Street, London -- At the end of April, with the technology sector in general taking a bit of a battering, we announced that "come May's meeting, we may well be looking out for bargains". Events, yet again, overtook us, and the meeting was dominated by the resignation of our esteemed Chairman, Rob Davies (TMFEssex).
The discussion revealed some interesting facts about collective decision-making, especially where money is concerned. Rob's fundamental beef (should "fundamental beef" be "live cow"?) was his discomfort with being voted into buying things he wouldn't buy himself. Is it possible that clubs -- especially those as large as ours -- don't get on well with rampant individualists?
In the end all was settled amicably; Nick Jenkins (TMFJenko) was elected as the new Chair, with Jane Mack (TMFJane) agreeing to buy Rob's units in the club. Whether this was an intelligent purchase or not, you can judge for yourself: the unit valuation of the club as of 23rd May is published below.
Valuation as at 23 May 2000
Shares Date Bid Disposal Gain/
held bought price value (loss)
Tesco 544 24 Nov 99 210 1142.40 +14.3%
NXT 72 10 Dec 99 805 579.60 -41.3%
Marconi 107 13 Jan 00 772.5 826.58 -17.5%
ARM 125 7 Apr 00 520.5 650.62 -35.2%
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3199.20
Estimated commission (48.00)
Cash in the kitty 1007.50
Outstanding contributions 175.00
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Total pot 4333.70
Units issued 5198.08
Unit price 83.37p
Performance to date -16.6%
Location: Fool office, Editorial area, 6th Floor Time: 13:00 hours Date: Wednesday 3rd May 2000 In Attendance: Rob Davies (in the chair for the last time); Chris Spink (scribbling); Stuart Watson (counting); Martin Wake (editing); Phil Southgate (spinning); Bruce Jackson (bicycling); Mandy Boylan (customer servicing); Norma Boylan (book-keeping); Nick Jenkins (community patrolling); George Row (community strolling); David Berger (media appearing); Ewan Wilson (tech-toasting); Renée Rosen-Wakeford (producing).
Jane Mack (prospective member) also observed the meeting.
Not a squeak was heard from Winfried Rauter, Alan Oscroft, James Carlisle or Adrian Gordon.
2. Minutes of the previous meeting
These were approved. Thanks were offered to James who wrote them and Martin who added an introduction for the version on the site.
3. Matters arising
a) Resignation of Chairman
In post 373 of the TMF SIC discussion board, delivered on 17 April at 10:34 am, Rob Davies, going under the moniker TMF Essex, tendered his resignation as Chairman of the club, after nearly nine whole months in his arduous role.
Rob, who was still chairing this meeting, thus formally said he wished to resign as Chairman and leave the club. To this end, in a moving resignation speech he decided, that in hindsight, his investing methods did not sit easily with those he thought were taking place collectively in the club.
He said, of the club's four purchases so far, he only approved of the ownership of Tesco(LSE: TSCO) (despite voting against this share when the decision was initially taken and actively advocating Fools to choose another one! By the way Rob also owns two other club holdings, Marconi(LSE: MNI) and NXT(LSE: NTX), in a personal capacity).
He thought people were voting for stocks they were familiar with rather than undertaking fundamental research before voting for their choices. A discussion ensued about whether the way the club was structured as beneficially as it could be. Particular points brought up included:
Voting deadlines -- were these too short and did this thus encourage rushed decisions?
The club's investment style -- what exactly are we trying to achieve?
The club's philosophy -- what was the prime focus of the club, as a social entity in which members learnt about investment in a fun way or as a more serious way of achieving above-average returns?
Rob seemed to think he was more of a "value" investor than many other club members. He didn't like losing money, however small the amount. He was less in it for social reasons.
Many members tried to persuade Rob to stay, pointing out that the club had only been going for a short period of time. Only over the long run should the investment decisions be scrutinised. Several implored him to stay saying he shouldn't be so sour in his old age and join in the social fun. Many said they had misgivings but preferred to air them and enjoy the collective aspects of investment decisions.
After half an hour of heated discussion in which it seemed Rob was almost persuaded to change his mind (surprise), observer Jane Mack, who was due to enter the club if Rob left, summarised the debate. She said if Rob was unhappy with the workings of the club and investment clubs in general after such a little time, he would be unhappy in the long run, so he should break away early.
Rob agreed. The resignation was grudgingly accepted and Jane took Rob's place. However, he chaired the rest of the meeting.
(Note: since Rob has resigned, the holdings of TMF SIC have already risen in value. Is this a hasty decision he will regret? Also he was seen talking to community Fools, trying to set up a rival SIC along "value" investment guidelines.)
b) Vote for new Chairman
Rob's departure left a void in the chair. Two candidates emerged to take on this task.
Nick was proposed by David and seconded by new member Jane.
Martin was proposed by Stuart and seconded by Nick.
After a quick discussion in the new post-Davies era, it was agreed that Nick be chairman and Martin vice-chairman. Thus effectively if Nick couldn't make a meeting in London, then Martin would chair it as his deputy in the office.
4. Treasurer's report
Tiger referred people to the earlier spam about the club's portfolio performance. He said that some members still hadn't set up standing orders. He named and shamed George, Alan and Winfried. One of Ewan's cheques had bounced as well. This meant the club had £1,150 in the current account -- enough for an investment.
5. Investments
There wasn't enough time to talk about the club's investments because of the extraordinary agenda caused by Rob's resignation.
6. Any other business
There was a suggestion that we should make club meetings more social, perhaps by holding them in a pub. This would also make them longer, and allow us to talk more freely about investment decisions.
8. Date, time and location of next meeting
It was decided to hold the next meeting the day after the June social event.
And so the curtain dropped on the Davies era, with many tears shed around the room by dewy-eyed Fools.
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