Feature article: A different kind of beat: Boyzone, 1996 Quoted company engagement with retail investors – a new world This month's feature article has been written in collaboration with The Quoted Companies Alliance. Introduction: Retail investors used to be the second-class citizens of the stock market. The bulk of their money was held in funds or pension schemes where a professional took all the decisions and where they owned only a tiny part of the equity market directly. They also tended to ask annoying questions at AGMs! Many managements were encouraged to all but ignore them by advisors. Today, we live in a world where that previously held view looks increasingly outdated. There are three primary reasons for this: ► Private investors have taken more control over their own money; for example, by replacing pension investments run by a manager with Self Invested Pension Plans. ► Compared with fund managers, these investors care much less about liquidity in shares, and their involvement can be an important factor in improving liquidity. In turn, this enables fund managers to invest, since they have been subject to greater liquidity scrutiny since the Woodford meltdown. ► There is a growing sense that these investors have been treated unfairly and that engaging with all shareholders fairly is just good governance, and should be part of the corporate ESG policy. Thus, many companies now take the view that engaging with these investors is beneficial. To read more, download the full article and November Hardman & Co Monthly.