For more information about PIRC or to arrange a meeting, contact Janice Hayward, or call us on 0207 247 2323.
Seeking Tomorrow’s Investor
Last week saw the launch of an interesting new initiative looking at the corporate world from the perspective of an ordinary investor. The Tomorrow’s Investor project is being led by the RSA as part of its Tomorrow’s Business workstream and seeks to explore the largely passive nature of share-ownership as experienced by ordinary investors.
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But which owners to answer to?
While the RSA is looking at the role of individuals as shareholders and there role in the corporate system, one veteran governance campaigner has warned that changes in the nature of the ownership of companies are having a significant impact on corporate governance. In his recent Charkham Memorial Lecture, Ira Millstein explored the challenges that new developments in the capital markets posed for both companies and investors.
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Japanese season in review
This year has seen a notable cooling of attitudes towards shareholder activism at Japanese companies. In previous years activism has been spearheaded by US investors who appear more willing to engage with the companies in which they are invested than their Japanese counterparts but also more willing to trade their shares for perceived underperformance. Although a quarter of Japanese shares are owned by non-Japanese investors they account for over 60% of the trades volumes. CalPERS and other influential US investors warned in June 2008 of the need for Japan to improve its system of corporate governance or risk further damage to investor confidence in investing in the country, and the economic costs associated with this.
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