Big US fund managers that have promoted their credentials in tackling sustainability issues have done little to support environmental and social shareholder proposals, their voting records reveal. During the 2019 shareholder voting season, funds labelled by BlackRock, JPMorgan Asset Management and Vanguard as sustainable frequently sided with a company’s management and against shareholder proposals on…
Category: institutional investors
Why Isn’t Your Mutual Fund Sticking Up for You?
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. and Harvard Kennedy School professor Antonio Weiss want mutual funds to consider the same long-term issues raised in the BRT stakeholder statement: Growing inequality and stagnant wages are forcing a much-needed debate about our corporate governance system. Are corporations producing returns only for stockholders? Or are they…
Executive Compensation: The Role of Public Company Shareholders
Barbara Novick of BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest and most powerful institutional investors in the world, wrote about CEO pay and the role of shareholders. Of particular note is her assessment of proxy advisors, making it clear that proxy advisor clients appreciate the analysis and recommendations but have their own views. Proxy advisors are…
A Catch 22 for Asset Managers
Jasmin Sethi writes about the impact of concentrated voting power and calls for better disclosure of the exercise of ownership rights: The big three—BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard—are victims of their own size. As they have increased their assets under management, they have also increased their voting power as typically they vote the shares for…
Boaz Weinstein Sues BlackRock Alleging Corporate-Governance Failings – WSJ
Saba Capital Management, a $1.7 billion hedge fund run by Boaz Weinstein, has sued BlackRock Inc., BLK 1.63% arguing the world’s largest asset manager has moved to block outsiders from gaining board seats at three of its funds and effecting change.In two lawsuits filed late Tuesday, Saba alleged that BlackRock’s actions run counter to the…
Index Funds May be Able to Vote 41% of S&P 500 Shares in the Future | Corporate & Securities Law Blog – JDSupra
Research by Lucian A. Bebchuk, Harvard Law School, and Scott Hirst, Boston University School of Law, indicates three key index fund advisors could cast 34% of votes in the next decade at S&P 500 companies, and about 41% of votes at S&P 500 companies in two decades. The key index fund managers are BlackRock, Vanguard,…
Financial Advisor IQ – Broker-Dealers Rebuked for “Web of Toxic Incentives” in Congressional Hearing on Reg BI
The broker-dealer business model is broken and won’t be fixed by the SEC’s proposed Regulation Best Interest. That was the picture painted by all but one of five witnesses called to testify on the effectiveness of the proposed rule at a Congressional hearing Thursday.“The brokerage business model, with all of these and other perverse incentives,…
Mutual funds start to put their mouth where their money is | Reuters
Corporate America’s biggest shareholders have traditionally been content with sharing their views on a company’s strategy privately with management. But now some mutual funds are beginning to rethink their stance, amid pressure from investors for them to justify the fees they charge and a push to boost the performance of their holdings. Wellington Management Company…
