29/12/2000 - Fund Management Operation & long-term outcomes
EMAG urges careful assessment of long-term outcomes before sale of the Fund Management Operation...
24/12/2000 - EMAG Response to Equitable Non-exec Directors Proposed Resignation
24th December
2000 - EMAG
Response to Equitable Non-exec Directors Proposed Resignation
EMAG welcomes
the decision of the President and other non-executive Directors to resign their
positions as soon as successors can be found. Their decision can lead to a genuinely
open and transparent relationship between the Board and the members. They have
recognised the need to seek Directors who "reflect the concerns of members".
The best way to achieve this is to involve members directly in the selection
process. At present this should be through active groups, such as EMAG, ELPHAG,
GARPHAG, to meet pressing need. For the future, we will be pleased to work with
the Directors to develop a genuinely democratic process to allow members to
elect Directors who will genuinely represent them and engage in a worthwhile
dialogue with members.
The Directors should be open-minded in best realising the members' asset in
the sales force. Given a clear route to stable, fair settlement it may even
be possible to reopen to new business, provided action is rapid.
The members are still in the position that they have no detailed or independent
information on the position of the Society and cannot assess their own position.
They are still being asked to gamble with their savings, now against a 10% penalty
on leaving.
There is an urgent need to maintain confidence in the Society. This cannot be
achieved by `more of the same'. If the Society has suffered in the past from
a protective and inward-looking culture then Mr Chris Headdon as MD has much
to prove in breaking with that past. We offer our cooperation in helping him
do so. We have proposed to the Board measures which are intended to restore
equity and confidence. It is for the Board now to demonstrate that their changes
go further than the surface.
20/12/2000 - EMAG Committee meets Equitable Life Non-executive Directors
20th December
2000 - EMAG Committee meets Equitable Life Non-executive Directors
Recent events
have been influenced by EMAG through meetings with the Equitable Life non-executive
directors.
We are now able to publish
a minute of these meetings.
At a further meeting in the near future we will be raising the following points:
- Our
views on reform of the board - members viewpoint on selection of Chairman
and other non-executive directors and member representation on the Board.
- We wish
to know details of the proposed settlement between GAR and non-GAR policyholders
and the mechanisms for achieving its acceptance, in a way that cannot be challenged
subsequently
- We would
also want to know the state of negotiations on the sale of parts of the business,
or the whole of it. While EMAG supports the sale of non-core activities such
as the sales organisation, any proposed sale of the asset management business
would need to be examined very carefully to ensure that it was in the best
interests of the members over the long term, including assurances about future
charges.
- Similarly,
it would need to be demonstrated that any proposed sale of the business as
a whole would serve members' interests best - especially if liabilities had
been capped through legal clarification or settlement.
31/10/2000 - Legal Initiative to Restore Equity and Confidence
The case for legal action to restore equity and confidence in the society: EMAG is fortunate in having Mr Jeremy Lever QC, of Monckton Chambers, London and Senior Dean of All Souls College, Oxford as a member. Jeremy Lever has cogently put forward the view that the non-GAR policy-holders have not yet had their day in court, that they have been greatly disadvantaged, and that equity and confidence could be restored to the Society by pursuing their case.
An indication of the scope of the legal initiative can be gained by reading minutes of an initial meeting or see the legal section under topics