To some people husband and wife team Alan and Gina Miller are troublemakers.
He for his attacks on the over-paid, over-priced fund management sector that he once did very well from personally.
She for her anti-Brexit political positions, for challenging the prororgation of Parliament and just generally being a woman with an opinion. (Some of Britain is still lost in 1965.)
Today they have a plan; a suggestion for how to boost the beleaguered UK stock market via pension funds.
They have written to Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Work and Pensions Secretary of State Liz Kendall to outline their ideas, and deserve a response.
You can see that letter in full here: https://scmdirect.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SCM-Direct-Letter-to-Rachel-Reeves-18-July-2024.pdf
In brief, they think UK pension funds should be required to have at least 20% of the shares they hold in UK equities. If that sounds tough or nannying, it would only return the funds to where they were as recently as 2017.
The MP’s own pension funds have just 2.8% invested in UK listed companies, so that would be a good place to start.
The 20% rule would direct nearly £42 billion into the market, boosting liquidity and stability.
And making the shares more attractive to foreign investors, since they can see there is solid support for companies worth about 25% less than they should be, according to analysis by SCM Direct, the Miller’s investment operation.
What’s the cost to the taxman of this? Hopefully nothing. And if it encourages economic growth, then HMRC is quids in.
The Millers say: “We urge you to consider this proposal and initiate discussions with relevant stakeholders to implement these changes. Your support would significantly enhance the resilience and attractiveness of the UK stock market, boost our economy, and signal that Labour is a government that backs Great Britain.”
How about it?
