Questions & Answers

Yesterday I received an email from Hargreaves Lansdown saying that by Monday midday I must decide whether I wanted to take the new ETF shares or opt for cash. I see that those taking cash must bear all the costs of the reconstruction (£950,000), which seems unreasonable. The effect of those costs on a single shareholder will depend on how many people opt for cash. I am not clear whether I would do better to accept the ETF shares and then sell them. Any suggestions?

I am participating in the Open Offer for TwentyFour Income shares but I was wondering if it would be helpful to compare that company to Fair Oaks Income, reviewed in the Newsletter not so long ago?

Last Friday it was announced that, following pressure from Saba, Middlefield were proposing to convert into a UCITS ETF. This would be the first time that an investment trust has rolled over into an actively managed ETF structure. I feel rather hostile to any proposal from Saba but it appears that there could be advantages in this idea. I have never dealt in ETFs and would like to hear what others have to say.

There was an interesting article in The Times yesterday about the forecast demand for battery energy storage. Consultants called Cornwall Insight say that the proposed storage projects greatly exceed the government's plan. We have 4.5 gigawatts installed today and the government forecasts a need for 29 gigawatts by 2035. The queue of potential projects by then will be 129 gigawatts. When I invested in Gore Street Energy Storage and Gresham House Energy Storage I thought they were providing a scarce resource and so had a bright future -- was I wrong?