As a shareholder, what can you do when you think that directors have let you down? That was the dilemma at Edge Performance VCT (EDGI), where determined shareholders formed an action group to do something about it.
Edge is a venture capital trust (VCT) that specialises in investing in media, leisure and events companies. Over the years, it created several separate funds, and shareholders were invited to invest on the basis that each fund, described as being “medium-low risk”, would be wound up after five years. However, their investments failed to perform as hoped, and so in 2016 shareholders agreed to have all these funds merged into a new single class, called “planned exit” I shares. In addition, Edge had an “evergreen” fund (with no time limit), which it called H shares.
However, its poor investment record continued, and so did its high costs. The members of the action group were aggrieved in 2019 when directors removed by shareholders were reappointed by the board and nothing was done about the high management fees.