How good is the
Australian Shareholders' Association?
Fiona Balzer is the Policy & Advocacy Manager of the Australian Shareholders’ Association.
I’ve recently joined the Association to help me to learn more about the share market. The ASA is an independent, not-for-profit association for individual investors. We're often know as "retail" investors.
At the ASA I’ve met some great people with a wealth of knowledge. The members are deeply engaged. They take the time to explore every nook and cranny of company operations. They have meetings, discussion groups, seminars and workshops where you can meet and learn.
If you happen to be in Sydney's inner west I would highly recommend the Concord meeting. It's at 10am on the 2nd Tuesday of each month at Concord Library. Your first visit is free. Come and say hi.
Buying a share means that you are buying a part of the company. This gives you the right to go to the Annual General Meeting to ask questions of management, vote on resolutions and generally make a noise if you are not happy with the company’s performance.
"The AGM is a retail shareholder forum"
Fiona and I talk about the work of the ASA in holding executives to account and representing small shareholders at AGMs. Executive remuneration is where management's feet can be held to the fire. Not many shareholders would be happy with an underperforming share price while executives are still copping the big bucks.
If you've never been to an AGM it can be a worthwhile part of your education. Most companies will make a web video available. Here's BHP's 2018 AGM if you'd like to see one in action.
We talk about:
- What is an equity analyst?
- The 4 buckets of investing.
- Executive remuneration – how much are they actually worth?
- Compounding Interest
- Compounding Education
- Compounding Costs
- Making sure you don't get bulldozed by a cold call or shonky financial planner
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Shares for Beginners is for information and educational purposes only. It isn’t financial advice, and you shouldn’t buy or sell any investments based on what you’ve heard here. Any opinion or commentary is the view of the speaker only not Shares for Beginners. This podcast doesn’t replace professional advice regarding your personal financial needs, circumstances or current situation.