INDEX investors empowered by iconikapp can regain control of capitalism from the financial services industry. Invest indirectly in 500 companies & vote YOUR VALUES AUTOMATICALLY before each annual shareholder meeting. ONEFUND (ticker symbol INDEX) partnered with iconikapp.com to give retail investors a say in how the fund’s shares are voted. Iconikapp’s technology enables fund managers to […]
Meta Lawsuit: In Brief Many thanks to Rick Alexander and The Shareholder Commons for allowing me to play a small role in opening up a new legal battle. The Meta lawsuit contends that directors of Meta Platforms, formerly Facebook, must consider the effects of its commercial activities on the portfolios of Meta shareholders, not just Meta’s short-term […]
Corporate Accountability Fall 2021: Restoring the Balance. This is your chance to discuss the issues with Nell Minow, Michae O’Leary, Andy Behar, Josh Zinner, Doug Chia, Bruce F. Freed, Heidi Welsh, Jon Lukomnik, Tim Smith, Christina Sautter, Rick Alexander, Karen E. Woody, Sanford Lewis. Spring will include Leo Strine Jr, Brandon Rees, Jackie Cook, David […]
Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Timeliness In the spirit of Kuhn, this book eviscerates modern portfolio theory, arguing for a more systemic approach centered around human values and intentionality. I had similar nascent thoughts in 1967 when I concluded economics, based on “rational” actor assumptions of homo economicus, was not grounded in science. Lukomnik and Hawley aptly […]
SHARE Summit 2021 was a virtual event this year. I missed the sidebar conversations so important at most conferences. Additionally, since I was home and had plenty of work to do, I attended fewer sessions than I would have in Vancouver. Still, even when virtual, this annual conference is among the best. I cannot think […]
This is a bit daunting. I’m giving a lecture named after Adam Smith. In a college where the first Director of Studies in Economics was John Maynard Keynes. No pressure at all. Twenty-five years ago, I had an epiphany. I was, at the time, the New York City official in charge of investing the City’s […]
Gadfly importance to democratic corporate governance is often underrated. We are currently under attack by the Business Roundtable (BRT) and others seeking to substantially raise the ownership threshold for submitting and resubmitting proposals. BRT, for example, contends proposals from small shareholder divert “significant time and resources to issues that, at best, have an attenuated connection to the […]
More beta is what investors should focus on order to increase long-term returns, argue Jim Hawley and Jon Lukomnik in their paper, The Long and Short of It: Are We Asking the Right Questions? – Modern Portfolio Theory and Time Horizons (download). That has also been the objective of Corporate Governance (CorpGov.net) since 1995. I […]
I just registered and booked for Directors Forum 2019. San Diego is a great place to be in January. The 14th annual Forum promises to be the best yet. Will you join us this year? Check out the agenda. Photos from the 2018 event. Here are a couple of my posts from last year’s Forum. (more…)
The seventh annual IRRCi deadline for submissions draws near. The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) is accepting submissions for its seventh annual competition for research that examines the interaction between the real economy and investment theory. (more…)
Microcap Board Governance, a study conducted by Board Governance Research LLC commissioned by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi), examines microcap board governance at 160 companies. That represents about ten percent of all companies with less than $300 million in market capitalization traded on major U.S. stock exchanges. (more…)
A new measuring effectiveness roadmap helps investors ensure they are moving beyond generating environmental or social impact through individual market transactions and are better aligning with broader system-level goals (e.g., the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs). Group action along the same trajectory can better influence system-level change. The measuring effectiveness roadmap helps investors answer […]
CEO Incentives can boost short-term stock price but destroy long-term value, according to the two winning academic papers of the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) annual investor research competition. The winning academic research teams share a $10,000 award. (more…)
Shifting Investor Perspectives on Climate Risk & Board Climate Competency These notes on climate competency are my last post from the Council of Institutional Investors Fall 2017 conference. Find more at #CIIFall2017. As a member of the press, I was excluded from the policy-making meetings. Still, it was a great opportunity to touch base with members […]
IRRCi Research Award Submission Deadline is October 6, 2017. Two categories: Practitioner and Academic. Winners to Receive $10,000 each and get to present at the 2107 influential Columbia University Millstein Center Forum. The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) is accepting submissions through October 6, 2017, for its sixth annual competition for research that examines the interaction […]
Tipping Points 2016, a new state-of-the-industry report profiled 50 investors investors with $17.3 trillion in assets, finds that investors are deliberately incorporating new investment approaches to help address systems-level risks and opportunities. The study indicates that investors are intentionally attempting to influence systems-level risk factors previously ignored as beyond the impact-ability of institutional investors. The report identifies ten tools […]
IRRCi Investor Research papers accepted in fifth annual competition. Two winners will receive $10,000 each and will have an opportunity to present their research findings at the 2016 Columbia University Millstein Center for Global Markets and Corporate Governance Forum. Practitioner and Academic submissions will be accepted until October 7, 2016. (more…)
Stock Buybacks: Directors Identify Four Reasons Stock Buyback Programs Stock buybacks have reached their highest level since the financial crisis, with S&P 500 companies repurchasing $166.3 billion of shares in first quarter of 2016. The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) and Tapestry Networks have scheduled a webinar for Tuesday, September 13, 2016, at 1 PM ET to review the […]
I continue my review of The Handbook of Board Governance: A Comprehensive Guide for Public, Private, and Not-for-Profit Board Member. With the current post, I provide comments on Part 4 of the book, The Rise of Shareholder Accountability. As a shareholder advocate, this is my favorite part of The Handbook of Board Governance. See prior introductory comments and those on Part 1, Part 2 and […]
What They Do With Your Money: How the Financial System Fails Us and How to Fix It What they do with your money is central to many issues of citizens around the world. This wonderful new book by Stephen Davis, Jon Lukomnik, David Pitt-Watson helps readers connect the dots. While its focus is on the […]
Uprising Against Wall Street – it has certainly been a clarion call of Bernie Sanders’ Presidential campaign but, as Stephen Davis points out in the video below, Hillary Clinton, Ted Cruz and Donald Trump have also attacked Wall Street. Public opinion is clear, so politicians aren’t likely to be strong defenders (at least not in […]
Controlled companies generally underperformed non-controlled firms in terms of total shareholder returns, revenue growth, and return on equity, according to a new report, Controlled Companies in the Standard & Poor’s 1500: A Follow-up Review of Performance & Risk, commissioned by the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) and conducted by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS). The study also finds […]
A North American board governance guru, Dr. Richard LeBlanc is put on the hot seat to discuss key steps to creating a great board—and how investors can know how effective their board really is. LeBlanc and host TK Kerstetter talk about board leadership, board assessments, board recruitment and composition. Kerstetter also quizzes LeBlanc about his […]
The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) is accepting submissions for its fourth annual Investor Research Award competition for research that examines the interaction between the real economy and investment theory. Practitioners and academics are invited to submit research papers by September 15, 2015, for consideration by a blue-ribbon panel of judges with deep finance and investment experience. Two research […]
Almost three-quarters of investment professionals worldwide (73 percent) take environmental, social, and corporate governance — ESG issues into consideration in the investment process, according to the CFA Institute ESG Survey, a new survey of CFA Institute members created by CFA Institute and the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRC Institute). In addition, 64 percent of survey […]
Sustainability innovation is powering business growth, according to a new research report. Between 2010 and 2013, revenues from company-defined portfolios of sustainable products and services grew by 91% among the companies examined in the report. For S&P Global 100 companies that break out revenue for sustainable products or services separately, that revenue stream grew at […]
Monday, May 11, 2015, 2 PM ET Connecting the Dots: Corporate Human Resources & Investment Outcomes Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute & Harvard Law Labor & Worklife Program Join the webinar on Monday, May 11th at 2:00 PM to review the findings of the latest research from the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) and the Pensions […]
A new study finds that economic value creation is not a major factor in institutional investors’ Say-on-Pay voting, nor in the recommendations of the two largest proxy advisors that counsel investors how to vote. The research reveals that there is no material difference between institutional investors’ Say-on-Pay voting for those companies that create economic value […]
Total shareholder return (TSR), is the most frequent metric used to pay CEOs for performance. The authors of this excellent study from IRRCi believe CEO pay should, instead, be linked to the cost and future value of capital. CEO Pay for ‘Performance” In 1993, Congress amended the tax code to tie executive pay to “performance” […]
Corporate boards are exceeding legal oversight requirements on environmental and social issues, with more than half of S&P 500 companies providing board level oversight of environmental and/or social issues above and beyond that required by law. Board Oversight of Sustainability Issues finds that many industries subject to scrutiny – paper, forestry, healthcare, utility companies – are among the most […]
TK Kerstetter, Chairman, NYSE Governance Services / Corporate Board Member interviews one of the brightest minds in corporate governance, Jon Lukomnik, who serves as the executive director of the IRRC Institute. A columnist for Compliance Week, Mr. Lukomnik previously chaired the executive committee of the Council of Institutional Investors, co-founded and served as a governor of the […]
The Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi) announced its third annual competition for research that examines the interaction of the real economy with investment theory. Two papers – one academic and one practitioner – each will receive the “2014 IRRC Institute Research Award” along with a $10,000 award. (more…)
Sorry to be late and abbreviated in getting out my coverage of this great forum. Be sure to check out the Forum’s photo gallery, which contains many more and much better shots than what I took between notes and conversations. The second panel discussed the growing issue of dual-class stock structures. While there was considerable […]
Jon Lukomnik, Executive Director of Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute (IRRCi), was announced the winner of the 2013 International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) Award for Excellence in Corporate Governance. He received the honor at the ICGN annual general meeting in New York, New York. Ralph Whitworth, Founder and Principal of Relational Investors, was awarded the Lifetime Achiever […]
Key Characteristics of Prominent Shareholder-sponsored Proposals on Environmental and Social Topics, 2005-2011, released by the IRRC Institute (IRRCi) and researched by Ernst & Young LLP finds environmental and social (E+S) shareowner proposals are gaining increased support from investors at US companies. Download the report, presentation, press release and even replay the webinar from IRRCi’s website. (more…)