More than half of investors in the Lighthouse Group – 53.17 per cent – voted against proposals to de-list at the meeting, which was held on 31 July.
David Hickey, chairman of the Lighthouse Group, who had unveiled proposals last month for Lighthouse to de-list, claiming it was no longer advantageous, said after the result: “The business remains in good shape, being both cash positive and debt free.”
He said the firm would continue to comply with Aim rules and respect shareholder preferences.
The proposals had attracted anger from shareholders such as Paul Mumford, senior investment manager for Cavendish Asset Management, who has a 5 per cent holding in Lighthouse Group shares in his £17m Aim fund. He claimed that the current negative investor sentiment towards IFA firms was only temporary.
Mr Mumford said: “Now it is time to draw a line under events and look to the future. As the management notes, the company is cash rich, with a strong balance sheet; while RDR may present an initial challenge, we continue to believe that the company will benefit from the demise of its weaker competitors in the sector.”
Another shareholder, Simon Taylor-Young, who formerly advised on mergers and acquisitions, claimed the announcement that the IFA firm was to de-list had created a poor price for sellers.
The share price of Lighthouse was 5.75p before the de-listing proposals and had fallen to 3p in recent weeks. It had bounced back to 4.25p at the time of going to press. Mr Hickey had suggested there was a “perfect storm” building against IFAs and their ability to list and raise funding for future growth.
He suggested the retail distribution review, economic climate and general negative investor attitudes towards financial services had combined to work against IFAs’ ability to obtain funding.
Meanwhile, another listed IFA firm, AFH Financial Group, which trades on UK exchange Plus, reported a 14 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £437,641, in its interim results.
Alan Hudson, chairman and chief executive of AFH, said: “Despite increased costs, market volatility and a reduction in adviser productivity due to taking exams, the group remains profitable, cash generative and extremely well placed to take advantage of changes in the sector as a result of the RDR.”