Shareholder class actions – once the preserve of the US markets – are now a routine feature of investment globally, requiring institutional investors in particular to have a robust worldwide monitoring and recovery process in place.
Institutional Protection Services Ltd (IPS) is a global class and group investor action specialist, providing worldwide shareholder action and settlement monitoring and claims recovery services for a wide range of institutional investors, including public and private pension funds, investment managers, hedge funds and wealth funds across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America.
IPS has developed its own automated global monitoring and electronic processing system, bringing efficiency to settlement recovery and “opt in” procedures and, importantly, maximising financial returns for its institutional investor clients who wish to ensure they are collecting all they should from these global processes.
Love or hate the notion of shareholder actions, today they represent a potentially significant income stream for institutional investors and of course legally cannot be ignored. But since class actions have globalised, investors have found it increasingly difficult to monitor cases and developments in all the relevant jurisdictions worldwide as well as negotiate the ever more complex myriad of jurisdictions and legal processes to ensure monies are properly recovered - and experience has shown it can be unproductive to use existing advisers who are not familiar with this increasingly complex area.
IPS enables investors to outsource this increasingly complicated activity entirely to its specialist team, while enabling them to retain oversight of all activity on their behalf, with full transparency throughout and generally resulting in higher recoveries.
Pensions and Investments, February 2012
“Shareholder class action suits have growing popularity abroad ...As more class
actions or similar court proceedings occur outside of the U.S. ... settlement agreements
in the ConveriumSCOR securities class action which ...”
Pensions: An International Journal (Palgrave Journals), 2012 Volume 17
“Institutional investors globally are increasingly recognising the need to monitor
and respond to the now many different securities class action and group investor
action systems around the world, to recoup investment losses arising from corporate
(or adviser) non-disclosure, misrepresentation or fraud. Securities class actions
started in the United States, still in volume terms the main home of class actions,
but have spread quite rapidly to other jurisdictions around the world. The US Supreme
Court’s Morrison decision in 2010 that sought to exclude so-called “foreign-cubed”
investors from US cases has accelerated the export of the class action style process
to other jurisdictions and increased shareholder class action activity outside the
United States. Whereas the US class action process is somewhat familiar (at least
to some investors), the variety of processes outside the United States is less well
known and the landscape continues to change rapidly. This article looks at some
of the selected non-US jurisdictions to give a brief introduction to the new evolving
global class action landscape.”
Business Standard, 20 December 2011
“The class action suit, a handy weapon for small investors seeking relief from errant
corporations, will soon be available in India. The Companies Bill, 2011, tabled
in Parliament last week, provides for the lawsuit that allows a large number of
people with a common interest in a matter to sue or be sued as a group...”
Public Service Review, December 2011
The globalisation of shareholder actions and what it means for local authority pension
schemes
European Pensions, December 2011
Class Actions - Winning Streak : More pension funds than ever are reaping the rewards
following class actions..
Institutional Protection Services Ltd (IPS) is a UK headquartered company, based in central London, that was established in 2004 to assist non-US institutions, in particular, meet their fiduciary duty to identify and recover all monies potentially due to them from securities class action processes in the US and elsewhere.
From the outset we have tracked not just securities class actions in the US, but all group investor actions worldwide, and responded to these on our clients’ behalf, to ensure IPS clients recover the maximum possible from these increasingly global processes.
Since 2004, we have seen a dramatic shift in the class action landscape from being almost entirely dominated by US actions to a truly global network of shareholder actions in jurisdictions on most continents, all with different legal processes and characteristics, but with the same fundamental aim of recouping investor losses arising from corporate (or adviser) non-disclosure, misrepresentation or fraud.
As shareholder class actions have globalised and it has become more complex for investors to understand where their historic investments are impacted and respond appropriately to each situation and within the required deadlines, IPS specialist services have become ever more relevant and beneficial to institutional investors worldwide.
IPS’ philosophy is to minimize the amount of time and effort that clients need to spend identifying relevant shareholder action cases and effecting recovery of funds while ensuring that they are at all times well informed about their position and options and can be sure that they are maximizing potential recoveries from cases and settlements worldwide. We are specialists in our field and believe in excellence in servicing and complete transparency so clients can always understand where they are impacted by legal processes and what work we are doing on their behalf to reclaim funds.
We have always taken a global approach to monitoring and responding to shareholder actions on behalf of our clients, believing it is as important for institutional investors to understand the impact and potential for recovery from suits in, say, Australia, Belgium or Canada, as it is from US cases. As the globalization of shareholder actions continues, this knowledge and experience will become increasingly important.
IPS’ management team combines experience and expertise in international financial markets, market regulation and corporate governance, innovative technology solutions, claims processing and securities litigation; and benefits from its directors’ commercial track record of specialist database design, complex claims management and securities litigation. IPS staff have processed over half a million claims relating to class actions, facilitating the payout of over $5 billion.
Roy is Chairman of IPS. He has been Chairman of the Financial Services Practitioner Panel and Chairman of Nymex Europe Ltd and is a current director of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange, director on the Advisory Board of Natixis Bank and a non executive Director of Turquoise Services Ltd. He has also served as the UK Chairman of Calyon SA, as well as the European Advisory Board of Calyon (formerly Credit Lyonnais) and also held positions with Ernst & Young, Antony Gibbs & Sons Ltd and Mercantile House Holdings plc.
In his other directorships and appointments, Roy is a past Chairman of the World Bank’s International Task Force on Commodities, Chairman of the Futures and Options Association, industry chairman of the Westminster Associate Parliamentary Group for Wholesale Financial Services and Markets, an Honorary Professor at City University, a non executive Director of Charterhouse Communications plc and EDX London Ltd and a Director of International Financial Services London (IFSL).
Roy is a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. He serves as a Trustee on the Alzheimers Research Trust and was a director and chairman of the Financial Services Skills Council.
Caroline is one of the co-founders of IPS. Prior to establishing this business, she worked for the London Stock Exchange for 12 years, working across the European, Middle Eastern and Asian markets. She set up a Training and Consultancy Services business for the Exchange in 2003-4, following a period as Head of New Business Streams, a team dedicated to building new businesses for the London Stock Exchange. She also sat on the Exchange’s Management Committee.
Prior to this, Caroline headed up the International Business Development department of the London Stock Exchange, with responsibility for growing the Exchange’s business outside of Europe and the US, following seven years experience starting up the Exchange’s business development activity in various international regions including Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Africa, Russia, CEE and SE Europe.
Caroline started her career trading financial futures for Credit Lyonnais at their Paris headquarters. She holds a Masters degree from Balliol College, Oxford University.
Greg is the original architect of the IPS system and has been IT Director since IPS was established. He is also the IT Director of FRA. Prior to IPS and FRA, Greg worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) in the US-based Information Technology Legal Systems division working on Holocaust-related projects, as well as several US based litigation projects involving groups as diverse as GE, the Native American Rights Fund and a major US insurance company.
Prior to joining PwC, Greg performed statistical testing and analysis for the US Department of Defense in order to evaluate the performance of sophisticated defense systems. Greg graduated with a degree in math and statistics from Radford University
Clare has extensive experience in complex claims projects and has been the team leader for a project to integrate three German state Holocaust compensation programs into a highly complex validation and payment system. Clare worked as Project Manager for the Claims Resolution Tribunal for Dormant Accounts in Switzerland and, later, the Claims Resolution Tribunal in Zurich, Switzerland from 1998 until 2002.
Clare was involved in the operational management of the Tribunals, including development and implementation of internal systems and procedures, supervision of the teams of international lawyers, paralegals and support staff and introduction of a Claims File Management department.
Previously, Clare worked within the legal industry in London and is a qualified legal executive.
Toby is one of the co-founders of IPS and is a director of FRA. Prior to IPS and FRA, Toby worked for six years for the Global Investment Banking Division of Deutsche Bank/Morgan Grenfell in the London-based Project & Export Finance team working on a number of complex big-ticket infrastructure projects in Europe, South East Asia and Latin America.
After graduating with Honours from University College London, Toby worked for 2 years as a steel trader in Hong Kong and China. He is a fluent German speaker with a good working knowledge of French.
Frances is a director of IPS and the Managing Partner of FRA. Prior to establishing FRA, Frances worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”) in the Dispute Analysis and Investigations division. From 1998 until 1999, she led the German language investigation of one of the major Swiss banks to identify dormant bank account assets potentially belonging to Holocaust victims.
Before joining PwC, Frances headed business development and led a number of international investigations for the largest U.S. independent investigative firm. After graduating from Oxford University with a Masters degree, Frances spent six years in investment banking working in the M&A divisions of Lazard and Schroders (now part of Citigroup) in London and of HSBC in Indonesia. She is bilingual English - German and a fluent French and Mandarin speaker.
Trip Chong is the Client Operations Manager of Institutional Protection Services.
Trip is a law graduate from City University, London and has also successfully completed the Legal Practice Course. Previously Trip worked at various London based law firms as a fee earner dealing in high value negligence matters. Prior to joining IPS, she also worked for a variety of Non Government Organisations as part of the international litigation team.
Trip has a good working knowledge of German and is a fluent Punjabi speaker.
John is a software applications developer with a background in relational database design and web based applications development.
John is a graduate in Mathematics and Computer Science from York University in Toronto, Canada. Prior to joining IPS John worked for various financial institutions based in London and Canada.
John also has a keen interest in fitness, and is a fully qualified UK (REPS) personal trainer.
Securities Class Actions FAQ
IPS provides its shareholder action monitoring and recovery services to a wide range of institutional investors, including public and private pension funds, asset managers, hedge funds and wealth funds. Clients are geographically spread across Europe, the Middle East, Asia and North America and range in size from around £400 million to £200 billion AUM (c. $650 million to $320 billion AUM).
All institutional investors and asset owners who have an internationally diversified equity and corporate debt portfolio will find themselves affected by the new global network of shareholder actions and will need to find a robust way to identify which actions globally are relevant as well as ensure they have watertight processes in place to recover funds from these processes in all relevant jurisdictions.
IPS provides clients an automated, end-to-end shareholder action monitoring and recovery system that covers all jurisdictions, is fully transparent and financially productive. IPS enables clients to understand when and where they are impacted by shareholder actions around the world (for most clients this is at least weekly) and to maximise their financial recoveries from these processes. Many clients come to IPS to upgrade their class action monitoring from a basic, US-focused service to a comprehensive global solution.
IPS is also pleased to provide its global shareholder action monitoring and recovery services to all Pension Vault clients. Pension Vault is a UK local-authority led, not-for-profit initiative designed to help pension schemes improve their governance and regulatory compliance, without requiring any internal resource and delivering a net financial gain through its services.
Claims Manager Online enables funds and institutions to track securities class actions in the US and elsewhere and relate these to their historical transactions in order to identify and recoup money that is due from securities settlements. The Claims Manager also governs the processing, verification and filing of claims for clients.
Clients are able to access the following information and services in a real-time, interactive environment through the Claims Manager:
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We are headquartered in central London, UK, with supporting offices in Chelmsford, UK and Providence, Rhode Island, USA.
All enquiries should be directed to the London office or by email. Our contact details are:
London, England
Institutional Protection Services Ltd
Third Floor, Audrey House
16-20 Ely Place
London EC1N 6SN
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 7821 Map
Chelmsford, England
Fourth Floor, Rivers House
127-129 Springfield Road
Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 6JL Map
Rhode Island, USA
IPS
170 Westminster St, Suite #200
Providence, Rhode Island, 02903 Map
Institutional Protection Services Ltd (IPS) is a limited company registered in England and Wales, with company number 5247486, VAT number 849 3245 03 and registered office at White Hart House, High St, Limpsfield, Surrey RH8 0DT. IPS’ main office is at Audrey House, 16-20 Ely Place, London EC1N 6SN. Access to and use of this site are subject to the following terms and conditions and all applicable laws: All names, logos and marks appearing in this site, except as otherwise noted, are trademarks owned by IPS. You may download and print a copy of the material displayed on this site for your personal use for non-commercial purposes only (provided you retain all copyright and trademark notices), however, you may not modify, distribute, transmit or sell the contents of this site without the written permission of IPS.
IPS makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, about the accuracy, timeliness or completeness of this site including without limitation the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. This site may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. IPS shall not be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential, indirect or punitive damages arising out of access to, inability to access, or any use of the content of this site or the content of any site(s) linked to this site, including without limitation any damages to, or viruses that may infect, your computer equipment or other property, even if IPS is expressly advised of the possibility of such damages.
IPS does not discriminate, either directly or indirectly, on such grounds as race, colour, ethnic or national origin, disability, sex or sexual orientation, religion or belief, or age.
IPS is committed to delivering a quality service at all times. If however, you are dissatisfied with any aspect of the service you receive from IPS, you wish to request further information, or make a complaint, please contact us by email, telephone or post and we will endeavour to resolve any issue as quickly and efficiently as possible
Institutional Protection Services Ltd (IPS) is a global class and group investor action specialist, providing worldwide shareholder action and settlement monitoring and claims recovery services for institutional investors around the world. IPS deals in the management of complex and often data intensive matters. Although, most of the data IPS processes is securities and financial related, we do on occasion encounter and process personal data as well. Due to the global nature of its activities IPS may transfer personal data between members of the European Union and the United States.
Privacy Policy
[Policy created on 15-May-2006 and reviewed annually.]
This document sets forth the IPS Privacy Policy (the "Privacy Policy") for our website, www.institutionalprotection.com (the "Site") and our general procedures for handling data. If you have objections to the Privacy Policy, you should not access or use the Site, nor should you allow IPS to handle your data. This Privacy Policy governs our privacy practices associated with all activities of and relating to handling data and information obtained from European Union members.
EU Safe Harbor Privacy Statement For personal information of individuals that IPS receives from the European Economic Area, IPS adheres to the European Union Safe Harbor principles as set forth by the United States Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information from the European Union. For more information about the Safe Harbor Principles, please visit the U.S. Department of Commerce's Website at http://www.export.gov/safeharbor/index.asp
Data Privacy and Protection
IPS is committed to respecting the privacy of individuals and is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office in the United Kingdom for data protection purposes. Internationally recognized standards require that the processing of personal data, both automated and manual, meet the following data protection principles:
The personal information that IPS maintains is protected in several ways. Access to the information by any authorized person(s) is only available through secure connections, passwords and unique IDs. Passwords and secure connections are encrypted. Personal information resides on a secure server that only selected IPS personnel and contractors have access to via password. IPS encrypts your personal information and thereby strives to prevent unauthorized parties from viewing such information when it is transmitted to IPS. There are instances in which IPS may divulge your personal information, such as where required by law, regulation, or litigation. We may also disclose information about you if we determine that such disclosure should be made for reasons of national security, law enforcement, or other issues of public importance.
Privacy complaints
IPS takes its users' privacy concerns seriously. If you believe that IPS has not complied with this Online Privacy Policy with respect to your personal information, you may write to the IPS Privacy Officer at the following address:
Institutional Protection Services Privacy Officer Third Floor, Audrey House 16-20 Ely Place London EC1N 6SN
In your letter, please describe in as much detail as possible the ways in which you believe that the IPS Online Privacy Policy has not been complied with. We will investigate your complaint promptly. If you do not receive acknowledgment of your complaint or your complaint is not satisfactorily addressed, you should then contact our legal team at the above address. We will make every effort at our disposal to resolve your concerns.
Privacy Policy Changes
IPS reserves the right to change the Privacy Policy from time to time at its sole discretion and will provide notice of material changes on the home page of the Site. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, and will be subject to, the changes to the Privacy Policy after such notice has been posted. We recommend that you review this policy from time to time.
Institutional Protection Services Ltd (IPS) was established in 2004 to assist non-US institutions with meeting their fiduciary duty to identify and recover all monies potentially due to them from securities class action processes in the US and elsewhere.
IPS enables institutions to identify and recover all monies owing from securities litigation processes in the US and other jurisdictions, ensuring that they are able to meet the highest standards of corporate governance and that shareholders and beneficiaries are not financially penalized by institutions’ failure to claim.
Institutions, particularly those outside the US, often find it difficult to identify where they have a claim on a settlement relating to a securities class action in the US and even more difficult to recover that money. In recognition of these difficulties, IPS has created an electronic and interactive database which can automatically track clients’ historic shareholding information against all securities litigation cases and identify all relevant claims. Claims are then processed with all compensation being returned direct to the client.
IPS is also able to assist those clients who wish to take a more active role in relevant cases by alerting clients early on to their estimated loss, providing in-depth analysis of cases and, in conjunction with the panel of European law firms, advising on possible courses of action.
In 2004, around $5.4 billion in settlement funds was paid out as a result of securities class actions in the US. Approximately $2 billion of this was simply not claimed and was, for the most part, returned to the relevant defendant companies (typically companies found to have committed or to have been associated with accounting fraud which encouraged shareholders to have paid an unwarranted premium for their investments). Institutions in Europe are just waking up to the fact that they must track these cases and take appropriate action to claim what is due to them and their beneficiaries.