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‘Lively, intelligent and packed with revelations, Share Power explains how even the smallest of investors can make themselves heard. A copy of this book should be on the desk of anyone with a pension.’
Allister Heath, Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
In this scintillating book, award-winning financial commentator Merryn Somerset Webb reveals a much-overlooked fact; every share we own comes with a vote. What few people know is that we can use these votes to influence company decisions – on everything from executive pay to corporate strategy.
Delving deep into the world of corporate capitalism – from the privatisation of state-owned companies in the 1980s, to the financial crash of 2008 and the growth of the modern multinational – Share Power shows us how capitalism went wrong and how, with six simple recommendations, every one of us now has the power to make it work for us.
Allister Heath, Editor, The Sunday Telegraph
In this scintillating book, award-winning financial commentator Merryn Somerset Webb reveals a much-overlooked fact; every share we own comes with a vote. What few people know is that we can use these votes to influence company decisions – on everything from executive pay to corporate strategy.
Delving deep into the world of corporate capitalism – from the privatisation of state-owned companies in the 1980s, to the financial crash of 2008 and the growth of the modern multinational – Share Power shows us how capitalism went wrong and how, with six simple recommendations, every one of us now has the power to make it work for us.
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Reviews
This book is a lively, lucid, bracing and brilliantly forthright love letter to everyone who believes in the principles of democratic capitalism. It should be essential material for anyone who has a pension or investment account, or is a student of economics - and is a must-read challenge for the City of London and corporate leaders today.
How should we "reform" capitalism? Merryn Somerset Webb, one of our best financial journalists, is a powerful and persuasive advocate of "shareholder democracy". With 11 million people owning shares, directly or indirectly, she argues it is time for the individual owners of Corporate UK to assert their rights and empower themselves. Her manifesto explains how this can be done and capitalism transformed.
Merryn is one of the clearest thinkers and communicators in finance. In this brilliant and concise book she explains why many people are disillusioned with capitalism; why they're wrong to be; and how we can make it even better and fairer than it already is. A must read.
Brimming with energy and hugely convincing - capitalism rescued in one short book.
Merryn Somerset Webb combines deep knowledge of investment with accessibility, wit and an occasional swipe of the scalpel - she is incapable of writing a dull sentence.
Your power is in 'their' hands. Here is how to get it back.
Hurrah for Merryn Somerset Webb who tells it as it is! She points to a choice: 'do you want to be as rich as you dare, or do you want to see the world a better place? For capitalism is like bleach; the more concentrated it is, the nastier it tastes. She takes no side, and gives practical advice to the votaries of both inclinations. Lesson no 1: votaries must vote!
Merryn Somerset Webb makes a convincing case for public markets and greater shareholder democracy, shifting the balance of power from asset managers back to individual equity owners. A blueprint for reimagining capitalism in the post-Covid era.
This book not only asks and answers one of the most pressing questions of the day, it makes the solution seem achievable. If everyone read it, we might start making progress.
Shares represent the partial ownership of human endeavour. As such they can grow in price as the ingenuity contained within the companies they represent, and can enrich their owners in a way that no other investments can. Merryn's book makes the case for shares better than any other I have read. Mandatory reading for all serious investors - and those who aspire to be investors.
Lively, intelligent and packed with revelations - Share Power explains why the stock markets could and should work for all of us, and how even the smallest of investors can make themselves heard. A copy of this book should be on the desk of anyone with a pension.
How do we direct the leaders of the world's biggest companies to pay attention to the things we think they should be focusing on - innovation, equality, climate change? Or even, dare I say it, profit? Merryn Somerset Webb shows us how we could - and should - be exercising our influence through the shareholdings in our pensions and ISAs.
A lively and persuasive case for genuine shareholder democracy to make businesses properly accountable.
'A breezy, accessible and admirably brief summary of what the stock market is, how it works, and where it isn't working well enough.'