EMAG

The independent action group for current and ex Equitable Life policyholders, funded by contributions.

Equitable Members Action Group

Equitable Members Action Group Limited, a company limited by guarantee, number 5471535 registered in the UK

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News - 2000

  • 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