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Hopefully there will be no impact on the SP and it will remain nice and steady at 82.52p :)

The RNS about the paper certs came out more than two weeks ago. I can't believe that HL still haven't finalised their position on this :/

I would contemplate switching to another broker but there simply isn't enough time to do that.

Ohmarko - "Insurance UK covers 85000 only if I keep them with my broker". What are you going on about...?

For eligible investors in the UK, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) will pay up to £85,000 if your broker goes out of business and is unable to pay your claim. Is this what you are referring to?

https://www.fscs.org.uk/what-we-cover/investments/

If it is, then you need to keep a few important things in mind. You would need to submit a complaint to your broker outlining your losses and specifying why those losses are due to your broker's action/inaction. If you had the choice of requesting a paper certificate but you decided not to, then they'll probably say that was your decision and nothing to to do with them. If Evraz decide to delist and relist in a country that only recognises individuals on the shareholders register as having title, you broker will say that the decision was taken by Evraz and not the broker. Again, nothing to do with them. The fact that they can't deal with Evraz due to the sanctions regime may be another excuse for them to turn down a claim. I'm just letting you know that you may be wandering into a mine field of excuses here that could cause your claim to fail.

Suppose you are successful in bringing a claim against your broker for some sort of failure on their part, you would get compensation from the broker, who will hopefully have sufficient PI cover to pay any claims. If the broker can't afford to pay and goes bust, then you have the right to turn to the FSCS. But you'll only be able to do that once your broker has gone bust.

So the things to balance up when considering the benefits of the FSCS are: 1) will you have a valid claim against your broker, and 2) is your broker likely to go bust over this. If the answer to either of those is no, then less weight should be placed on the FSCS argument.

DYOR

Fair enough Wow, thanks. Be careful though about influencing one way or the other especially if it makes no difference to you. I try to be upfront about what I know and don't know. I'm no expert and certainly do not know which way this will go. I would hate to think that anybody is making decisions based on what I have said on here. I have a lot riding on this and don't mind sharing my hunches, even if it's just to get them knocked down.

The facts are that Roman Abramovich recently moved his holding in to his own name. I have no idea why, or how the other majority shareholders are registered. Evraz is telling us to move shares into our own name on the register if we want to ensure we retain title. The shares have been suspended from the LSE and IMHO there is little (if any) reason to think that sanctions will be lifted in the short term and that the "temporary suspension" will come to an end. Most of us will have to make our own decisions on the paper certificates soon and then we just have to wait for the roulette table to stop spinning.

Wow - if you are simply untangling your affairs, you would just set up a new nominee or shell where you are the sole beneficiary or shareholder. That maintains your desire to stay below the radar. But RA has done something quite unusual here for a billionaire, I would say.

Wow - my personal view is that a company engaged in business with Evraz (B2B) is in a different situation to an individual doing business with Evraz (B2C) and again a PI taking the opportunity to participate in a buy out.

I can't see it being in the public interest to prosecute 100s/1000s of UK PIs for distancing themselves from a sanctioned entity. Again, this is not legal or investment advice, just my thoughts on the back of a fag packet. DYOR.

Anyway, I don't think your invested here so is this just a bit of an academic exercise for you...? If you've got no skin in the game, why are you bothering to post, out of interest?

My concerns would be that large multinational brokers might be incapacitated from acting as agent due to the sanctions regime.

Also, I don't know enough about Russian laws to know whether a distinction is made in Russia between a beneficial owner and a nominee appearing on the register. Presumably there may be title issues due to local laws in Russia.

These are vague concerns that I don't have enough to substantiate. One thing I do know is that custody laws in Russia are different to what we are used to in the West.

Here is also something to think about. Roman Abromovich transferred his shares from a corporate nominee to a direct holding. Why do you think he did the very thing Evraz are saying we need to do, long before we were told to do it?Coincidence? Maybe, but I don't believe in coincidences.

Everyone has to think about what they want to do and make their own decisions at the end of the day. It's no good coming on here in X amount of time and complaining that you followed the thinking of a random stranger on a bulletin board. Get advice from as many brokers as possible and test their answers. GLA

I believe that Evraz may delist from the LSE and relist in Russia. I believe that Roman Abromovich moved shares into his own name in preparation for things to come. It's all IMHO though and we should all base our decisions on the advice of the experts we trust.

Apologies, I was talking about the disadvantages of paper certificates. You seem to have switched to talking about the disdvantages of remaining in crest. Hence the confusion.

You don't end up in limbo. You cancel the share certificate that got lost in the post and get a new one. After that you start the process of completing the stock transfer form all over again with the new certificate.

If you think the war will end soon (or relatively soon) and the sanctions will be lifted then it's worth thinking about the value of the tax wrapper.

If you think the war will drag on leaving the company facing difficult choices (such as delisting) then the benefits of a tax wrapper are not in the equation as the shares may not qualify anyway.

Nobody knows what's going to happen so it is really a personal decision based on your own views. But if you do have the paper certificates then, at least, you are on the shareholders register. Should that be a deciding factor later on then you may be relieved you were on the register, even if you became liable to taxation on income/gains.

All IMHO of course.

On a more serious note.

If you have paper certificates, you are the custodian. If you lose them then it's your responsibility to replace them.

Secondly, when you come to transfer you will need to complete a stock transfer form. It's not only additional administration for you, there will be time delays in processing the transfer as it is done by post. And if the documents get lost in the post then you have to replace the share certificate and start all over again.

"You not loose anything but gain a lot."

My understanding is that you will lose any tax benefits from withdrawing shares held in a tax wrapper (ISA/SIPP).

"If you don't decide to convert, we will continue to reflect your Evraz shares on your portfolio, maintain a record of your holding on our books, and you will still be able to trade your Evraz shares through us if the suspension is lifted and trading of Evraz shares recommences on the London Stock Exchange."

Okay, so a broker is under a regulatory obligation to maintain a record of your holdings. That's not telling us anything new. And, duh, really? They will allow you to trade your shares once the suspension is lifted and trading recommences on the LSE. No s7it, wow!?

The response does not deal with the issues of whether they will process a transfer if the company delists and offers to buy out PIs, or what happens if the company re-lists on a different exchange. But if that's enough for you to take comfort in not following the advice from Evraz on how to secure title, then good luck to you. Personally, I'd rather not risk it and get my name on the register of shareholders. However, I'm with HL who haven't decided what they are able to do yet so can't go down that route yet.

When handling paper certificates, you do need to be mindful of the ever present risk of paper cuts. They can be incredibly painful.

Could we soon be shareholders of a Russian football club...?

https://www.londonworld.com/sport/football/chelsea/ex-chelsea-marina-granovskaia-to-roman-abramovich-eyeing-spartak-moscow-3780748

Lol

I wonder if it was this article that prompted today's RNS.

If so, somebody at Evraz is probably keeping an eye on this BB.

So we won't be able to transfer shares (should that become possible) without a paper certificate.

That leaves all HL holders in a bit of a bind, myself included.

opulentia - I do share your frustrations. Russia does have Europe over a barrel with energy but most countries (less so countries like Hungary) are taking steps to reduce their dependance on Russia. But there is no quick way out for Europe and Russia knows that.

RA and Evraz is not things the governments of Europe are dependant on in any way so it's an easy one to cut off. Doesn't help the likes of you and I, but there you go. We're just collateral damage at the end of the day.

Paint thinner is flammable, isn't it... ? The article simply states that toluene was supplied for use in explosives. I suspect you'd need to consider how toluene is used in explosives, rather than as a paint thinner.

One of the main takeaways from the article is what Evraz will be doing (or forced to do) going forward due to the new law that compells Russian companies to support "national security and defense". As such precurement work is kept secret, I don't see how Evraz will be able to show that they don't now supply the Russian military, even if they successfully argued that they hadn't in the past

IMHO any hope of sanctions being lifted on Evraz are going to be on ice for a very long time. The only way shares may get back to trading is if Evraz split the Russian and non-Russian activities. The chances of that are about zero squared.