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Focus Groups

ProShare Focus Groups 2023

One of the benefits of an organisation's ProShare membership is access for its team to our members-only focus groups. All our focus groups are led by industry experts and provide a relaxed and friendly environment where updates are provided, the hot issues of the day - relevant to each group - are discussed, and ideas are explored. We also like to hear from the group’s members with any topics, questions, or updates they might have, so please do let us know if you have anything to be considered for inclusion on any of our agendas.

We are very pleased to announce the launch of the brand-new ProShare Share Plan Comms Focus Group! The group will meet twice a year and will be chaired by Lauren Kushner - Account Director at Stitch, Deloitte's communications agency. These sessions will be especially relevant to organisations offering share plans to their employees, and to those providing and advising on participants comms, but as with all our focus groups, all ProShare members are welcome. Please do let us know if you would like to be added to this group's mailing list.

For our opening session at 16.00 on Wednesday 22nd March, join us to discuss: 

  • Share plan comms diagnostics - where are we now, what have we left behind, what's to come
  • CGT and SAYE comms
  • The role of share plan comms in current economic climate
  • Challenges and restrictions

We will also have a comms troubleshooting slot where the group's members can bring their specific challenges to the group, and we can chat through and share potential solutions. Please do get in touch if you have anything at all that you would like to have considered for the first agenda.

The next ProShare Tax Advantaged Share Plans Focus Group takes place via Zoom on Thursday 16th February at 16.00. This session will be chaired by Jennifer Rudman, Industry Director, Employee Share Plans at Equiniti. There is much to discuss what with recent government announcements about changes to CGT allowances which will have an impact on SAYE maturities and will need to be communicated appropriately; HMRC’s ongoing review of the SAYE bonus rate mechanism; the potential impact on SIP dividend shares with forthcoming reductions in the dividend allowance; increase in the CSOP limit to £60,000, and other topical items.

The next ProShare SME (small to medium sized enterprise) Focus Group takes place via Zoom on Monday 13th March at 16.00. This session will be chaired by Amy Reynolds, Partner – Tax and Share Schemes at Mazars, and John Dormer, Director at The RM2 Partnership. This is the second time this revamped group will meet, following on from our relaunch last year, and we are keen to hear from members who would like to join the group and any topics they wish to discuss.

Our next ProShare Global Issues Focus Group takes place at 16.00 (TBC) on Wednesday 24th May, as always led by Alexy Armitage, Global Equity Manager at AVEVA Group Plc, and Jules Shepherd, Director – Share Plans at The Sage Group, with contributions from industry experts on global tax, compliance and other topical issues. Following the success of November's hybrid meeting (in-person and online), we will be looking to do the same for this session. Updates to follow - watch this space!

We will be revamping and refreshing our Share Plans in Financial Services Focus Group to ensure that the sessions focus more on items of interest for our plan issuer members. We will be providing a further update on this shortly. We are also aiming to hold our inaugural Offshore Focus Group in the Spring. More details to follow.

If you would like to be added to the mailing list for any of these groups, please let us know and we’ll ensure you get the latest updates for each group. Remember, these focus groups are only for organisations which are ProShare members. If you’re not sure whether your company is currently a member, or if you’d like to discuss becoming a member, please do get in touch. You can also find further information here.   

Each focus group provides 1 hour Continuing Professional Development (CPD). More information can be found here.