Shares - help!

Kamaya

Not after professional guidance, more of a wider opinion.

For the last few years I have been purchasing shares in the company I work for (travel industry) under a corporate scheme. I'm leaving the company for pastures new in the coming months and basically I have been given 2 choices - sell my shares, or transfer to a private holding elsewhere. 
I don't know a thing about shares, as the company have been managing this for me, and wouldn't know where to start in terms of managing them. The company I work for was heavily hit by COVID, and share price absolutely plummeted. Now, they've buoyed on the news of the potential vaccine, but they are still worth a third of what they were pre COVID.

I can't decide whether to sell up to avoid the hassle, but potentially lose out long term if the share price rises. Or, keep the shares, and manage them and any costs by moving them to another platform. 

Should I decide to keep them, can anyone recommend a good company that I can move my shares to - and, how on earth I would go about this?!

Thank you!

NottinghamKnight

Simplest way of looking at it is if you had the cash now would you buy the shares, if not sell up. One thing to check is the charges for selling, the company brokers can often be expensive so confirm hat they are charging, it shouldn't cost more than £10-£15 to sell with an external broker such as halifax share dealing or xo, but paying an extra fee quid might be worth reducing the hassle of transferring and then having to sell. What is the approximate current value?

Kamaya

That's a good point - I don't think I would be investing at this time given the uncertainty of the industry to be honest.
At today's value, they are worth just under £1.4k.

steampowered

Sell your shares.

Then use the money to open a stocks & shares ISA. Select a global stock market fund, that is diversified. You could look at the Vanguard Lifestrategy Funds, for example. This is an easy way of splitting your investment across many different companies.

Holding a chunk of money in the shares of a single company is extremely high risk, because the fortunes of a single company can rise or decline very quickly. As you have unfortunately found out. It is possible that the share price will rebound a bit, but it is equally possible that the company will not recover and will end up entering insolvency, in which case your shares will be worthless. 

El_Torro

Under normal circumstances I would agree that you should sell the shares at the earliest opportunity and reinvest the money in a global tracker or multi asset fund. However since it's a travel company, and we all know what Coronavirus has done to the travel industry, it might be worth holding on to them for now and waiting for them to recover.

Of course with this strategy there are risks, it might take longer than expected for the share value to recover, or the company might even go bust, leaving you with nothing. Personally I'd probably hold on to them for now, but that's just my point of view, not necessarily the "right" thing to do.

ElephantBoy57

Kamaya said:

I can't decide whether to sell up to avoid the hassle, but potentially lose out long term if the share price rises. Or, keep the shares, and manage them and any costs by moving them to another platform.

Easy enough to open an ISA or a SIPP if you are above 40 and want to keep them as a first step towards a pension.

I would keep them myself, I have a SIP with Hargreaves Lansdown.

MaxiRobriguez

I would also keep them and hope for a further recovery.

tacpot12

I use AJ Bell for my pension and have a Stocks & Shares ISA with them, and a General Investment Account. I find their service to be good and their charges reasonable. 

You can move these company shares to them via what's call an "In-specie transfer". I expect that your company broker will be able to give you a form to complete to request the transfer. AJ Bell might also have a form you need to complete to tell them where the shares are coming from and which sort of account you want to put them into (You only have three choices: Pension/ISA/General Investment Account aka a Dealing Account). You can call AJ Bell for advice on what their side of the process will involve. 

I think I would hang onto them in the hope that in 10 years time, the company will be thriving again. 

Kamaya

You input has been fantastic. Let's get rid of the ambiguity - the company is TUI. So, it is a multi-source market company, and the shares were worth nearly £18 each at peak 18 months ago, currently they are worth just over £5. They have taken some whopping loans out from the German government, which are due in a few years time. I think I might hold on a little longer until the first vaccine is available, as I think that might be the point where shares will jump. 

Really, really appreciate your views. Have a great day all.

Albermarle

Not after professional guidance, more of a wider opinion.

If you ask a question about investments, you always get a variety of opinions , as you will have noticed.

One point is clear though if you do want to transfer them it is an easy process nowadays with low cost on line platforms.

ElephantBoy57

Kamaya said:

You input has been fantastic. Let's get rid of the ambiguity - the company is TUI. So, it is a multi-source market company, and the shares were worth nearly £18 each at peak 18 months ago, currently they are worth just over £5.

TUI AG, also known as TUI Group, is an Anglo-German multinational travel and tourism company headquartered in Hanover, Germany. It is the largest leisure, travel and tourism company in the world.

I believe UK shares have dropped more than in other countries, as TUI is multinational, it should fair better than UK only companies.