Standard Life Shares

baby_boomer

Standard Life is facing a hostile AGM with national publicity from unions complaining about the changes to the pension scheme and unemployment.

If the employees hadn't opposed demutualisation back in 2001, when the company's financial strength wasn't in doubt, there would have been more of them employed now and members would have much, much larger windfalls and with profits policies that would be on course to perform well.

But employees foolishly went with the management's pro-mutual line, in the misguided belief that they could preserve a unique non-contributory final salary pension scheme :eek: courtesy of milking the members.

They unfortunately listened to a deluded management, headed by Scott Bell and Iain Lumsden (both of whom secured their own pension schemes with massive 40%+ rises in their final year's salary).

Employee support for mutuality in 2001, given the very close vote, cost members £000s in windfalls, £000s in endowment shortfalls and cost employees 00s if not 000s of jobs.

gt94sss2

The Annual General Meeting press release and a 'highlights of the AGM' webcast can be viewed here

Regards
Sunil

Cappsy

Last five trades from LSE

17:09:25 29-May-2007 340.00 18,758 63,777.20 Non Protected Portfolio
16:52:05 29-May-2007 340.00 17,208 58,507.20 Non Protected Portfolio
16:50:41 29-May-2007 340.00 3,763 12,794.20 Non Protected Portfolio
16:42:14 29-May-2007 340.45 3,201 10,897.80 Non Protected Portfolio
16:42:00 29-May-2007 399.88 100,000 399,877.00 Ordinary Trade

A typo obviously, but made me do a double take!

C

full-time-mum

baby_boomer wrote: »

Why some big sales at the end of last week?

There were bound to be some institutions reducing stakes on the back of recent gains and inadvance of the bonus share issue which will see sales by ordinary investors.

Is this why the share price is falling or is it the pension thingy?

In these types of cases, are the losses likely to be reversed?

Should the original and bonus shares be sold immediately or is it likely to be worth waiting?

I'm thinking that when bonus shares are allocated that the prices will drop for a bit so should wait until things level out again but is this pension issue complicating things?

Sorry to ask so many (daft?) questions but we're shareholder/stock market virgins.

And before you ask, I do realise that no-one has a crystal ball.

baby_boomer

I'm not worrying too much about the pension issue. Almost all financial companies, including other mutuals, operate defined contribution pension schemes so Standard's move in this direction is only catching up with the rest.

You are right to think that there may be a drop in the share price at the time of the bonus allocation, but a drop could also come beforehand if institutions take profits in advance of the allocation.

Whether there is more to come in the medium term after the fantastic run we've had so far, I couldn't say.

StevieJ

baby_boomer wrote: »

I'm not worrying too much about the pension issue. Almost all financial companies, including other mutuals, operate defined contribution pension schemes so Standard's move in this direction is only catching up with the rest.

You are right to think that there may be a drop in the share price at the time of the bonus allocation, but a drop could also come beforehand if institutions take profits in advance of the allocation.

Whether there is more to come in the medium term after the fantastic run we've had so far, I couldn't say.

Have SL already provided for the bonus issue (i.e. put shares aside)? if this were the case it my be that some of those bonus shares will not be required due to some free shareholders having already sold the shares. If this is the case then the share price might benefit from the bonus issue. I can also see a great many free shareholders selling after the bonus issue creating the reverse effect and pulling the share price down.

DocProc

Standard Life plc
31 May 2007

Standard Life plc

Presentation to Investors and Analysts

The Platform Opportunity

31 May 2007


Standard Life plc is today hosting a presentation to investors and analysts on 'The Platform Opportunity' at 10.00am (UK time), 31 May 2007, at Standard Life House, 30 Lothian Road, Edinburgh, EH1 2DH.

The presentation slides will be available on the Standard Life website

http://www.standardlife.com at 10.00am (UK time).

baby_boomer

Up 6.5p to 349p at 12.30 on Thursday

What's the current price of those 300p put options that the Evening Standard suggested we all bought :rotfl: ?

epninety

From Reuters :-

'Standard Life (SL.L: Quote, Profile , Research) gained 4.2 percent after Merrill Lynch upgraded it to "buy".' :j

Shame its diluted by the losses over the last few days, but still nice

plumb1_2

Up 12.75p to 350.75p today