Annual meetings
With the annual report, you’ll also receive an invitation to the company’s annual meeting. This is officially known as the Annual General Meeting, or AGM for short. For example, if a company’s financial year ends in June, and it releases its profit result in August, the annual report might be released in September and the AGM held in November. All shareholders are entitled to attend the AGM. At the meeting shareholders approve the accounts and elect the directors of the company, among other tasks.
What’s probably of interest to most shareholders, though, apart from the possibility of free samples of the company’s products, is the ability to see management in the flesh. The chairman of the company will speak about the past year, and perhaps give an indication of performance in the current year and future strategy. Then you’ll get the chance to ask questions of the directors. The AGM is usually your one chance to gain a real insight into how management behaves when the heat is on. For that reason we recommend you attend the odd AGM. It’s a great way to see company democracy—or otherwise—in action.
