A fresh burst of shareholder activism

I admit it - I am a passive investor and have been putting away a fixed amount for the best part of fifteen years into tracker funds and PEPs as part of a long haul towards retirement. I rarely if ever attend AGMs and restrict my activity to following the fortunes specific companies through the pages of the FT. Passive investors lie at the heart of much of the divorce between ownership and control in many modern corporations. But there are further signs of growing shareholder unrest and a desire to create squeaky-bum moments for senior executives at shareholder meetings. The Guardian today carries a lively story of recent gatherings where angry shareholders have taken aim at embattled executives - and they link to the UK Shareholders Association formed in 1992 to support and to represent the views of private (ie. non institutional) shareholders. There are numerous groups springing up many centred on the disaster-zone of the UK banking industry.