Aviva Return of Capital for DRIP Shareholders

cheesedoff1717

Hi

I have Aviva Shares held by Computershare and have the Dividends reinvested by them with Dividend Re Investment Plan - or DRIP

I got letter re the Return of Capital and reading on here and elsewhere just about understood it UNTIL I spotted in bold " as a DRIP participant we write to tell you DRIP will not be available for the B Share Scheme entitlement and all shareholders will recieve a cash payment"

I tried asking Computershare but they say they cant give more details but all I needed to know was will the cash payment offered to me equal what I would have got if I wasnt reinvesting via DRIP

So if someone has 1000 shares and experts say the ROC will be roughly £1 a share they will get £1000 - so if I have 1000 shares will I get £1000 too please. It would seem logical not to penalise me indeed ironic if Iwas given that I continue to invest in the Company again and again by having more shares

many thanks if you can do Computershares job for them lol

Notepad_Phil

I haven't seen the letter you've received as I'm not an Aviva share holder, but it seems probable that it is only saying that these new shares won't go into your DRIP in an attempt to clarify things i.e. so that someone doesn't think that they might receive dividends from them or see them in their DRIP account.

From my reading of https://www.aviva.com/return-of-capital/ it seems that everyone (including you) will receive the same amount per share and I'd find it very doubtful that such a large and well established company would attempt to make DRIP members disadvantaged in such a manner.

Thrugelmir

Not a dividend, it is a return of capital. Where new shares are created and then cancelled. Resulting in a cash payment to shareholders. Given the scale of the exercise. It's complex enough as it is. Without accomodating the wishes of a small minority of shareholders. 

Novice_investor101

Sounds like I’ll be receiving a good chunk of cash from this, a bonus I wasn’t expecting! 

A return of capital isn’t a dividend. You’ll receive a set amount of cash which will be based on how many shares you own on a certain date in May. The link posted above states to have up to date address & bank details with your broker so it will be cash paid to you. 

You can then choose to buy shares with them if you wish. 

I’ll likely spend mine on home improvements I’ve been saving for or invest it into my ISA index funds.