Bruce Sheppard at odds with shareholder lobby over Unlisted

Bruce Sheppard at odds with shareholder lobby over Unlisted rule exemption

By Tina Morrison

June 18 (BusinessDesk) - Bruce Sheppard, former chairman of the New Zealand Shareholders Association, is at odds with the lobby group he founded in 2001 because he supports Unlisted's application for an exemption from becoming a listed market under new rules.

Sheppard, who was chair of the NZSA until 2010, says in a submission that he supports Unlisted being granted an exemption, provided the companies listed on its share trading platform publish an insider trading code on the site, and that it imposes restrictions on some early-stage companies.

By contrast, current NZSA chair John Hawkins, who replaced Sheppard, says the lobby group's board has resolved to "strongly oppose" Unlisted's application for an exemption, saying investing on its platform is akin to playing 'Russian roulette' and it didn't want to see investor protections watered down.

Wellington-based Efficient Market Services, which operates Unlisted, is seeking support from interested parties for its application to be exempted from being a licensed market under a stricter set of rules which came into force under the Financial Markets Conduct Act in December.

Sheppard was appointed to the Financial Markets Authority establishment board. He also chairs Connexionz, a company that moved its listing from the NZX to Unlisted, and argued in his submission that there was a place for cheaper, less regulated alternatives to the NZX that were better suited to smaller companies.

"To grow more $100 million companies we have to allow such companies a transition zone from fully private to semi-public," Sheppard said. "If Unlisted is not exempted there will be no other transition zone available."

(BusinessDesk)

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