Mark Bentley

Mark Bentley passed away on 26 December 2025 following a short illness, at the age of 66. He was a founding director of ShareSoc in 2011 and remained deeply involved with the Society and SIGnet to the end.

Before becoming a full-time investor in 2004, Mark spent most of his career in IT. He began at Logica in 1980, working on the Giotto mission to intercept Halley’s Comet for the European Space Agency, and in 1987 founded Anvil Technology Ltd, which he ran successfully for 14 years.

At ShareSoc he was a key member of the policy committee, convener of the National Group and co-convener of the Tyne-Tees group, and he spearheaded the Society’s technology, delivering its website, member forums, CRM, and communication and payment systems. He was instrumental in the 2019 ShareSoc and SIGnet merger, preserving SIGnet’s ethos.

Mark drove several major campaigns protecting individual investors, including the Beaufort Securities and Hartley Pensions campaigns. On Hartley alone he ensured that thousands of ordinary investors avoided unjustified charges running into tens of millions of pounds. Away from investing he enjoyed poker and rambling with friends.