Shareholder requisitions continuation vote for Gabelli Value Plus – we published an article last week – Gabelli Value Plus+ tender on hold for now – see link – that said a leading shareholder planned to requisition a meeting to hold a continuation vote. That, in turn, was a response to the fund’s announcement in August. Today, we discover that the aggrieved shareholder leading the charge is Investec Wealth & Investment.
In a letter, addressed to the chairman, Jonathan Davie (pictured), Investec says it raised a number of concerns in 2018. However, the letter seems to suggest that the board didn’t take its concerns seriously. In one damning paragraph Investec says “we felt there had been little evidence of the board acting proactively on behalf of shareholders despite the material underperformance of the vehicle, double-digit discount to NAV, lack of obvious catalyst for improved performance, high management fees, limited liquidity and poor reporting.” You can read the whole letter here.
[It takes a lot to get most shareholders riled up to the point where they start calling meetings to demand action. The board should never have let things get this bad. The board says it “does not agree with a number of the points made and will respond fully in due course”. On the points made above though, we’d have to agree with Investec. Watch this space!]
GVP : Shareholder requisitions continuation vote for Gabelli Value Plus
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