Roles and Responsibilities
Mobius is managed by a number of officers. Some additional roles have been created over time as the club got more experienced.
Main roles
The club has the minimum of three (standard) officers - chairman, secretary and treasurer:
One of the main roles of the chairman is to oversee proper operation of the club. S/he sets the agendas, convenes and runs the meetings, ensuring that each meeting is quorate. The minutes are taken and written by members (taking it in turns).
The secretary mainly handles membership dealings, various compliance and legal requirements including those with key institutions interfacing the club, notably banks and stockbrokers. The secretary may also coordinate social events such as Christmas dinner, attending seminars or conferences, guest speakers to/from other clubs or outings (usually cinema/restaurant).
The treasurer undertakes key activities to compile the monthly accounts, including the Unit Value (UV), then circulates these on a monthly basis. S/he deals with all members buying and selling units. Annually, the treasurer prepares a full pack for the audit team.
Additional roles
The auditor: Annually (a few weeks prior to the AGM), the auditor conducts a full audit of the accounts (the club has used more or less the same template/format over time). To complete this work, the auditor receives a full pack of all club accounts and relevant transactions. The auditor reports back to the AGM.
Tax officer: S/he follows HMRC guidelines and updates members of any changes pertinent to UK investment clubs. Yearly, the tax officer prepares a tax report for all members (normally 4 to 6 weeks after a UK tax year). This report indicates members’ (apportioned) income (e.g. dividends, interest), capital gains and any other HMRC requirement.
Trading team: They are responsible for trading via the club’s stockbroker, mainly buying and selling stocks (based on the club’s decisions). These transactions are usually monthly, shortly after monthly meetings. The dealing team has more than one member (to cater for situations of first trader not being available).
All officers of the club resign annually at the AGM. New officers are nominated and seconded. A vote should take place if two or more members put themselves for election (for a particular role). So far, this has never happened. If anything, there is sometimes, well often, a plea for volunteers. Most chairmen run offices for at least two years. The treasurer remained unchanged for nearly two decades, likewise the trading team and auditor have not changed for a good few years.
Officers and/or any member carrying out work for the club are deemed volunteers and not paid or compensated (except for any incurred valid expenses). This principle has been set in the club (and is part of Proshare constitution/rules).