The QCA? What’s that again?

I meet someone most days who has never heard of the Quoted Companies Alliance.

Or if they have heard of us, they might only have a vague idea of what we do.

I’m clear that we don’t need to be a household name, but we do need to explain ourselves better.

Why? To remind members of our value, spark the interest of future members, ensure we are connected with everyone we should be – and effect positive change.

Our relaunched website features some FAQs (and their answers), which I’m posting here. (Although anyone following me on LinkedIn in the past year should have an inkling…)

Please get in touch to find out more. It’s a vital time to campaign for our markets and their users.

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Who is the QCA for?

For growing companies whose shares are publicly traded on any UK stock exchange, as well as the firms that support them: brokers, nominated advisers, accountants, lawyers, registrars, banks, corporate financiers, investors, technology providers, PR consultants, IR experts, headhunters. We reach across the whole City of London community and the companies they work for that are based all over the UK.

What do you do?

We champion the importance of the UK public markets and campaign on behalf of the companies that use them, particularly small-cap and mid-cap stocks.

That means identifying ways to reduce the cost and complexity of being public, pressing for proportionate regulation that works for companies of all sizes, driving up market liquidity – the volume of buyers and sellers – and improving the overall narrative for members.

We talk to government, regulators and the media, organise networking and knowledge sharing and publish a family of guides to encourage better boardroom behaviours, including our QCA Corporate Governance Code.

What sort of members do you have?

They are diverse, to say the least. Tiny companies seeking a commercial breakthrough for their cutting-edge technology. Well-established brands pushing into new export markets, or going on the acquisition trail.

They straddle sectors and geographies, from fintechs in Huddersfield and vehicle tracking experts in Mid-Wales to digital media producers in Glasgow and makers of security scanning devices in Abingdon. All have tapped shareholders via the public markets to fund-raise, acquire, incentivise, export, grow.

So it’s an organisation just for company CEOs?

Not at all. Some trade groups specify certain corporate roles for their membership but we operate more broadly. Sometimes our primary contact is the chairman, finance director, company secretary or a non-executive director. Among adviser members, it could be a sector specialist involved in one of our Expert Groups that inform our policy work or a business development lead.

A single QCA membership covers the whole organisation. Within reason, that means the whole senior team can take advantage of what we offer.

What’s so special about public companies?

They’ve been at the heart of UK business for decades. People still turn to the FTSE indices, which are baskets of public company shares, to judge the economic mood.

Public companies invest in their local economies, create well-paid jobs, operate to a high level of transparency, drive productivity and enable broad share ownership – including among their own workforce.

Today there are fewer UK public companies than for many years but we believe that trend can – and should – be reversed, with the right mix of regulatory reform, investor incentives and a better narrative.

And why do you favour small stocks over large?

Largely, large companies have the resources to look after themselves. We have always given voice to smaller companies who lack the resources to lobby at the highest level of government or regulation and might not get the media attention they deserve.

As an investment prospect, we also know that small-cap beats large-cap over the long term. The “Small Cap Effect” is well documented. Between 1954 to 2022, the UK small-cap sector outperformed UK large-cap by an average of 3.1% per annum. That means it produced returns almost seven times greater when compounded over the period.

However, given today’s challenges, we believe public companies of all sizes have more that unites than divides them. That’s why we welcome all public companies to join the QCA and take advantage of our network and our campaigning efforts.

What does “quoted” mean?

It’s an umbrella term for publicly traded – that is, a company whose shares can be bought and sold on a stock market. The stock quote is the latest price at which its shares are available – or, more accurately, it is made up of the “bid” price, which is the highest price at which someone is willing to pay for a single share, and the “ask” price, the lowest price at which someone is willing to sell a share.

“Quoted” is often used interchangeably with “listed” but there is a technical difference. Shares are “listed” on the Financial Conduct Authority’s Official List of securities (shares) which encapsulates the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market, including constituents of the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 indices. Beyond that list are hundreds of growth companies whose shares trade elsewhere, for example on AIM or the Aquis Growth Market, which are referred to as “unlisted” but of course are still “quoted”.

The QCA represents companies whose shares are listed or unlisted. We also like to be “quoted”, regularly in the media talking on behalf of our members, and by others, who may be referencing our research reports or boardroom guides.

Why should I become a member?

To amplify your organisation’s voice on key issues, connect with peers in your community, learn from our webinars, workshops and boardroom guides, take advantage of discounts on a range of services and attend exclusive events.

If you succeed in your mission, don’t non-members feel the benefit anyway?

Yes, when our campaigns hit home with government and regulators. But to influence what we campaign on and how, you have to be member. The same goes for the vast majority of our events, whether that is lunching with fund managers, our flagship Annual Conference or regular roundtables and webinars with expert speakers and policymakers. It’s a club well worth joining.

How are you run?

We are a small team, organised into three areas: policy and research; membership, sponsorship and operations; marketing, events and communications. The QCA’s Chief Executive is James Ashton, a former financial journalist and author; the Chair is Judith MacKenzie, an experienced small-cap fund manager.

Who do you talk to in government and regulation?

We focus on a “Big Five” group of institutions: the Financial Conduct Authority, the Financial Reporting Council, HM Treasury, the Department for Business and Trade and their “shadow” functions within the Labour Party.

Don’t you just represent AIM companies?

No. AIM will always be our heartland, but we are focused on growing our reach on the London Stock Exchange’s Main Market and also the Aquis Stock Exchange. We believe public companies of all sizes have more that unites than divides them. That’s why we welcome all public companies to join the QCA and take advantage of our network and our campaigning efforts.

What have you achieved?

Over time, plenty. The founding fathers of the QCA were prime movers in the creation of the growth market AIM in 1995. Ever since then we have argued for proportionate policymaking to benefit London’s “long tail” of public companies.

Sometimes it’s easier to point out what didn’t happen because of our efforts, such as the government’s decision not to implement the European Union’s settlement regime, the Central Securities Depositories Regulation (CSDR), which would have had a devastating impact on liquidity.

Most importantly, we provide a constant voice speaking up for our markets and our members.

How do I join?

I thought you’d never ask. Try here.

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