Academy of Management 2021, #AOM2021. I was a discussant at a symposium entitled, Synergizing Corporate Activism Research: Building a Shared Understanding of an Evolving Phenomenon (session 913) This post is mostly for my future reference but readers may also find parts interesting. I welcome contact from those attending #AOM2021 who are interested in collaborating with investors. […]
Mutualism, the subjects of Kara Stein’s recent talk at Stanford Law, has been a subject that has fascinated me since the 1980’s when I was awarded an NIMH Fellowship to study what types of corporate governance structures (including mutualism) might be most beneficial to employees, shareholders, and society. I applied many lessons learned in heading […]
A shareholder society appears to have no place in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Capital Markets Competitiveness (CCMC) severely flawed paper on shareholder proposal reform. The paper is intended to contain a “set of recommendations for the SEC on fixing the broken Rule 14a-8 system in order to protect investors and make the public company […]
Shareholder Activism at Roll-Royce ValueAct, the US hedge fund, has emerged as a shareholder in Smiths Group, just days after revealing it is the largest investor in Rolls-Royce. Lex’s Rochelle Toplensky and Jonathan Eley discuss the possible implications for Smiths and Rolls-Royce. (more…)
It’s impossible to read a newspaper, magazine or blog, or watch the news without hearing about shareholder activism. It’s an industry unto itself with activist funds, attorneys who represent activists, activist defense lawyers, activist-focused investment bankers, activist conferences, activist newsletters, activist databases, and, of course, there are Messrs. Bebchuk and Lipton. As a former institutional […]
In case you missed it last weekend, Donna Dabney, Executive Director of the Governance Center at The Conference Board posted this November 14th presentation by Dr. Yvan Allaire presented at the Annual Meeting of The Conference Board Governance Center. His talk was titled Do activist interventions create long term shareholder value? Allaire reviews a lot of studies and […]
Activist Investing: Background, Impact and the Players These videos are dated but still timely. On April 16th, 2012 Stanford’s Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Center for Corporate Governance kicked off their Shareholder Activism Series with a discussion titled “Activist Investing: Background, Impact and the Players.” (more…)
Below are notes I took during the afternoon sessions at the Corporate Directors Forum 2014, held on the beautiful campus of the University of San Diego, January 26-28, 2014. This year, I was only able to attend on January 27th. The program was subject to the Chatham House Rule, so there will be little in the way of attribution below […]
Lecture given by Chad L. Norton, Vice President, Fund Business Management Group of Capital Research and Management Company at Banta Center for Business, Ethics and Society, University of Redlands. Mr. Norton previously served as corporate secretary of The New Economy Fund and SMALLCAP World Fund, Inc., two of Capital’s retail mutual funds, as well as American Funds Insurance Series, […]
This unique “must have” two volume set traces the development of corporate governance thought around the core issue of the separation of ownership and control while also touching on the board of directors, executive pay, shareholder activism and the regulatory structures that shape corporate governance in the U.S. I include the index to both volumes at […]
This guest post by Lucian Bebchuk originally appeared on the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation on April 9, 2013 as Wachtell Lipton Was Wrong About the Shareholder Rights Project and is reproduced here with Professor Bebchuk’s permission. Martin Lipton quickly rebutted in a post entitled A Reply to Professor Bebchuk. The Shareholder Rights Project (SRP) is […]
Elroy Dimson, Oguzhan Karakas, and Xi Li analyze an extensive proprietary database of corporate social responsibility engagements with US public companies over 1999–2009. Engagements address environmental, social, and governance concerns. They are followed by a one-year abnormal return that averages 1.8%, comprising 4.4% for successful and zero for unsuccessful engagements. (more…)
National Association of Corporate Directors, Silicon Valley Chapter, Inc. Interview with: Ken Denman, Former President & CEO, Openwave Systems, Inc. Hosted by: Abe Friedman, Managing Partner, CamberView Partners (more…)
This was the last of a three part overview of shareholder activism, beginning with the history and an overview of the key players in the space; continuing with a behind-the-scenes look at non-contentious shareholder engagement and how its impacting companies and the market; and ending with this session on Contested Situations: Proxy Fights, PR wars and […]
This was the second in a three part overview of shareholder activism, beginning with the history and an overview of the key players in the space; continuing with a behind-the-scenes look at non-contentious shareholder engagement and how its impacting companies and the market; and ending with an overview of proxy fights, PR wars and activist […]
Investing in Japan by Steven Towns carries the subtitle, “There is no stock market as undervalued and as misunderstood as Japan.” Towns might be right. He guides the reader to plenty of undervalued companies but (more…)
Highlights from Thomson Reuters IRHub Blog Trends in Activism and Say on Pay. Executive compensation and board-related issues, including withholding votes for Directors who are members of executive compensation committees, are the top concerns of shareholders. Other corporate governance issues include too much (more…)
What’s the difference between the role of advisors and a board of directors for a start-up? At what point in your development should you build each group? Tips for creating an Advisory Board or Board of Directors: choosing the right people, defining objectives and expectations and compensation issues (i.e. What’s in it for them?) Common […]