Pensions Investments Research Consultants - news and commentary.

Seeking Tomorrows Investor

2008-07-25T06:00:01.937000

Last week saw the launch of an interesting new initiative looking at the corporate world from the perspective of an ordinary investor. The Tomorrows Investor project is being led by the RSA as part of its Tomorrows Business workstream and seeks to explore the largely passive nature of share-ownership as experienced by ordinary investors.

But which owners to answer to?

2008-07-25T06:00:01.937000

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.

Japanese season in review

2008-07-25T06:00:01.937000

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.