tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54820270564544847742024-02-10T11:31:54.520+00:00Pro GovernanceOur Mission is to campaign for the protection of investors and savers by promoting good corporate governance. We also believe that the wider spread of share ownership is in itself a public good and may sometimes even be preferable to higher economic efficiencyHeinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.comBlogger404125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-39187909648318427442024-01-08T15:49:00.002+00:002024-01-08T15:49:31.603+00:00Pension Plan Discrimination? - 3M to scrap Pension Plans for non-union employees<p>Given that Top/Chief/Senior Executives often/usually benefit from better Pension Plans (as well as Medical Benefits and Incentive Plans) is it acceptable that 3M takes this one step further and intends to scrap its pension plans for non-union employees?</p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-44437024417420241382023-08-15T09:26:00.007+01:002023-08-15T09:26:47.745+01:00Why do Investors Vote Against Corporate Directors?<p><a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/08/03/why-do-investors-vote-against-corporate-directors/">https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/08/03/why-do-investors-vote-against-corporate-directors/</a> <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">15-Aug-2023</span></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-34941743988569074692023-08-15T09:07:00.006+01:002023-08-15T09:27:27.131+01:00Mega Grants: Why Would a Board Approve Nine-Figure CEO Pay?<p><a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/08/07/mega-grants-why-would-a-board-approve-nine-figure-ceo-pay/">https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/08/07/mega-grants-why-would-a-board-approve-nine-figure-ceo-pay/</a><br /><span style="font-size: small;">15-Aug-2023</span></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-63842271914906151162023-05-10T09:53:00.004+01:002023-05-10T10:03:14.921+01:00Du Plessis: Pot calling the Kettle black<p>Interesting to read this lament from someone who has to much
to be grateful for this "narrow british way of life". Thanks to the
"narrow" circle of people who seem to be in control of so much of the
City he sailed comfortably from one post to the next.</p><p>When he extols the
positive (in his "narrow" view) aspects of the business enviroment in
the United States he conveniently forgets to mention that a separation of CEO
and Chairman is highly unusual over there. And rightly so, as the facts clearly
demonstrate that a separation has virtually no benefit and if anything is
detrimental. If business performs markedly better in the USA it clearly speaks against this (expensive) separation.</p><p>Du
Plessis clearly thinks that the sky is the limit for executive pay - again
assuming that only high pay for the C-Suite will lead to strong economies when
that is not supported by the facts. The USA may look well positioned as the
nation with the highest per-capita income (apart from minnows like Luxembourg,
Monaco etc) but can one assume that extravagant levels of executive pay are the
principal - or necessary - cause of this?<br /><br />One of the people rankings so popular with the press placed du
Plessis as the 10th most powerful person in UK business (TheTimes 2006 Top 100) But does he
enjoy any legitimacy? Who gives him this "power"? the same narrow
circles that control government, regulators and major firms!<br /><br />In the latter case
it is the financial intermediaries - Pension Funds, Mutual Funds, Insurance
companies and Private Banks - that vote "their" shares in favour of
high pay. Like du Plessis they have no explicit mandate on how to cast
their votes from the ultimate shareholders - the great unwashed public. Proxy
Advisors may look like they take an objective view they are also beholden to
these Intermediaries who pay substantial (secret) fees to them.</p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;">(10 May 2023)</span></p><p><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2023/05/09/narrow-british-way-life-holding-back-city/">Narrow British way of life’ is holding back the City</a> (PayWall)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-76277006258594532052022-09-25T12:34:00.003+01:002022-09-25T12:43:31.469+01:00Big Funds support attack on Free Speech?<p>When Tech firms like PayPal start to get involved in censoring media outlets it is time for the owners to stand up and be counted. #Vanguard #Blackrock #StateStreet and other major fund managers cannot stand idly by and wash their hands of the critical debate about Free Speech. Investing cannot be just a numbers game, a sort of casino if you want to call it that. And management cannot be operating in a vacuum. Selling the shares is not an option either - first of all the mania for indexing makes it impossible for many funds to sell the shares. It is also a sign of cowardice not to stand up for the principles of a free society. The debate should also be about the responsibility major financial institutions have due to their control of the major media companies (in conjunction with a small clique of superrich individuals/families)<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(25 Sept 2022)</span></p><p><a href="https://www.gbnews.uk/gb-views/paypal-cancelling-the-free-speech-union-account-shows-we-need-a-discussion-about-the-control-big-tech-giants-have-over-british-civil-society-says-dan-wootton/369970">Paypal cancelling the free speech union account shows we need a discussion about the control big tech giants have over british civil society</a></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-60129629578744863812022-05-19T09:52:00.006+01:002022-05-19T09:53:46.256+01:00<p><b><span style="font-size: medium;">A company will get nowhere if all of the thinking is left to
management.<br />(Akio Morita)</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-6219815104872655642022-05-19T09:49:00.004+01:002022-05-19T09:50:41.043+01:00JPMorgan shareholders vote against Jamie Dimon’s pay<p>Just shows that the efforts to contain Executive Pay, esp at the very top, have been fruitless so far. If only 31% support Dimon's pay, how can it actually stay at the same level? Is there no moral sense of obligation - at least with the toothless board of directors? Nobless oblige one used to say.....so there is no nobless anymore.<br />What is really wrong with the Personnel Management of many -
if not most - firms is the fact that too much reliance is put on the top
man/woman and there is no succession plan or proper preparation. Before boards
should end pointless debates and rush to the lunch/dinner/golf course they
should really review top executive staffing to at least two levels below the
CEO. There should also be a plan for the immediate succession - a firm like JP
Morgan should be able to have groomed at least two or three worthy successors
to Dimon, and reward them well - and cut his ridiculous compensation and
assorted freebies.<br /><span style="font-size: small;">(19-May-2022)</span></p><p><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-70916030134551633172021-12-15T10:12:00.009+00:002021-12-15T10:30:30.119+00:00Onerous legal rules for Impact Investing?<p>You can trust that lawyers will not miss a chance to make things
complicated - and then charge ever-rising fees to disentangle the rules
and regulations that they helped to create. Case in point this report by
Freshfields about the obligations of fund managers to take impact
(socially/environmentally) of the decisions into account. The problem
with imposing these obligations is that any lobby group - however small -
can start legal proceedings and impose substantial costs on the funds
(while often supported by taxpayer money, directly or indirectly or by
donations from charities, ngo's or think tanks that in their turn are
only representing the view of a small but often vociferous minority).
Taken to the extreme there could be a challenge to the investment in a
milk delivery company because (take any of the options) it uses petrol
or diesel for its vans, uses metals sourced from 'bad' countries, does
not have a workforce split evenly between male/female, old/young,
white/non-white etc. The possibilities are endless. As are the costs and
burdens on business and ultimately the end consumer/investor, Joe
Sixpack, you and me.<br /><a href="https://www.freshfields.us/4a199a/globalassets/our-thinking/campaigns/legal-framework-for-impact/a-legal-framework-for-impact.pdf">Freshfield Report<br /><br /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;">(15-Dec-2021)</span><br /></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-31404536880973619452021-07-04T10:31:00.008+01:002021-07-04T10:33:23.517+01:00How to influence Companies' Human Rights behavior<blockquote><p><span style="font-family: inherit;">How should, how can, shareholders influence Companies? The only solution I can see is a new platform to give them a say in the proxy process. As matters stand the existing (and pretty much unaccountable) oligolopy of profit-seeking proxy 'advisers' cannot be relied on to represent the views of the ultimate owners of Companies.</span><br /></p><p class="responsiveweb__Paragraph-sc-1isfdlb-0 YieBL"></p><blockquote>LinkedIn is
facing pressure from senior MPs and academics to stop “bowing to
Beijing” by censoring users who are critical of China.</blockquote><p></p><blockquote><p class="responsiveweb__Paragraph-sc-1isfdlb-0 YieBL"><i>The Times </i>has
identified scholars, businessmen, journalists, whistleblowers and a
former diplomat whose accounts were blocked in China after the
professional networking site found “prohibited content” on their
profiles.</p></blockquote></blockquote><p> <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/stop-bowing-to-beijing-mps-tell-linkedin-rvnkjxh0v">Stop bowing to Beijing, MPs tell LinkedIn (The Times, PayWall)</a></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-56805589943063115992021-06-20T18:14:00.002+01:002021-06-20T18:18:43.396+01:00Morrisons - Barbarians at the Gate (The Sequel)<p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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</p><p class="MsoNormal">Private Equity firms basically are Conglomerates in drag and
should never have been allowed to slip under the regulatory mantel designed to
protect retail investors from fraudulent investment firms. As a consequence PE
promoters enjoy unfair advantages with respect to tax, corporate governance
(esp corporate compensation), transparency, treatment of staff and clients. No
wonder the universe of listed companies is shrinking fast - and will accelerate
if regulations are not changed - FAST!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">In this age of growing concern about Inequality it is a slap
in the face of ordinary investors - let alone citizens - if more and more
public companies get gobbled up by financial engineers and their conspirators
among dominant shareholders and management. Apart from the problem that benefits
of the Private Equity industry are disputed - there was hardly ANY private
equity to speak of before the mid-1980s and the world was doing quite well
without it - the distributional effects are clear for all to see: Who else but
promoters of the industry can spend millions on a birthday party? why should
public companies show restraint in relation to executive compensation when
promoters and their hired guns in management don't disclose their pay packets?
They probably get paid amounts that would sometimes be multitudes of what
senior executives in public companies can earn. It is clear that mechanisms to
protect public shareholders from having their companies taken away on less than
attractive terms are not up to the task. Who cares about Wider Shareownership
or the Shareholder Democracy? Rome's decline started when wealth got
concentrated in the hands of the few.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">There may well be agency problems at Public Corporations,
though family firms often are also ridden with conflict in the C-Suite,
especially between family members. But as long as Private Equity gets favorable
treatment from a tax, regulatory and transparency point of view this trend away
from listed companies will continue. The irony is that Private Equity needs the
public market in order to sell its investments. The question of how citizens
and workers can be made part of a capitalist system that is concentrated in a
very small number of hands should not be forgotten - it may be the most
important question after all!</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">But one aspect is forgotten (on purpose?) in this ongoing
saga. For arguments sake let us agree that it is beneficial and fair to give
entrepreneurs and investors a lower tax rate on capital gains. But the
promoters behind Private Equity are not always putting sufficient funds of their
own into the businesses they finance. Taxable income could easily be converted
into capital gains if they award themselves a sort of founder's shares at
artificially low prices - and voila, when the company/asset is sold they can
book a capital gain that is taxed at a much reduced rate. Given the opaque
nature of Private Equity one has to assume that this practice is quite
prevalent in the industry. In addition, basing buy-out vehicles in offshore tax
havens allows even more manipulation of tax levels. So while most of the money
managed by 'Private' Equity ultimately comes (via financial intermediaries)
from the Public the tax affairs of the promoters are the one aspect that is
really private. Maybe a small part of all the noise and energy spent on reforming
pay in the listed company sector would be much better addressed to shed more
light on the pay practices in the Private Equity business.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">The re-emergence of Dell as a Listed Company can only leave
a sour taste in the mouth of anyone who supports a Market System that benefits
the great majority and not just a few clever financial engineers.For a long
time Pro Governance has argued that it is much to easy to take listed companies
'private' (a misnomer in the case of 'Private Equity' backed deals as PE firms
are mostly working with money from Joe Sixpack even if it is allocated by
fiduciaries in the money management food chain).</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Most end investors - and even their often gullible
fiduciaries acting as 'limited' partners in the Private Equity investment vehicles
- are blissfully unaware of the myriad of fees that are charged to the funds
they are invested in. So the current spat between some Private Equity big wigs
allows a peek into this opaque world. Given that the disputed fees relate only
to the money invested by three officials of the funds one can imagine the
amount of money that was charged to the proportionally much larger amounts
coming from the 'limited' partners (ultimately Joe Sixpack). Surprisingly the
critics of executive pay in listed companies are mostly (all?) silent on the
goings-on in the 'discreet' world of (not so) 'Private' Equity where most of
the money really is invested on behalf of the general public.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Some call Private Equity and their close cousin, distressed
debt investors, nothing but locusts that are out to make a fast buck. This
judgment may be overly harsh, but given the short time between investment and
exit that is the hallmark of some deals it may be difficult to disprove this
judgment.One are of possible abuse, however, is the treatment of shareholder
loans when an investment hits the buffers. Loans from major or especially
controlling shareholders should be treated as subordinate to all other claims,
pensions, wages, trade creditors and tax authorities.In the case of Private Equity
'Funds' it should also not be possible that the Fund washes its hands of an
investment that had gone sour. The Fund should be treated as a going concern,
much like a Conglomerate. This would instill a much higher level of commitment
from the PE investors and prevent overly risky investments on the basis of
'heads we win, tails you loose<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(20-June-2021)<br /></span></p><span style="font-size: x-small;">
</span><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-88120261259783395142021-06-12T13:57:00.004+01:002021-06-12T14:03:21.478+01:00Climate Data in Company Accounts?<p>From my days as a part-time journalist during my years at University I remember one thing very well: The way you formulate the headline already implies a value judgement. So it is in this article. Asking for the sense in excluding Climate Change Data lets the reader automatically register some - however small - reaction in favor of not excluding this 'Data'. And I put it into inverted comma as data (in relation to how company accounts are affected by Climate Change) implies a false sense of precision.</p><p>Excluding the question if - and if so by how much - climate change is affected by human activity (or excessive breeding) - any effort to incorporate the data into company accounts in a meaningful way is fraught with huge problems.</p><p>Minor influences that progress literally at glacial speed (to use a pun) are hardly worth the bother. All the data collection will only provide (well-paid) jobs for a myriad of new-styled 'Climate Change Analysts' and assorted experts (such as the author of the article).</p><p>But what about major changes? Should any company report on the likely impact of sea levels rising by 3 metres or more? Or a rise in temperatures in certain region above the 40 or 45 degree mark? Making accurate predictions depend on the accuracy or inaccuracy of predictions about future changes in the Climate. <br /><br />Company accounts are already a tender construct that is being abused all too often and this further complication would just make them even more liable to be distorted. Anyone with a brain should be able to form a judgement as to the risks inherent in an economic activity.<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(12-June-2021)</span><br /><br /><a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/why-the-g7s-latest-plans-to-capture-companies-impact-on-climate-change-falls-short-of-what-investors-need-20210611">Where's the sense in excluding climate change data from a company's accounts? (FN London, PayWall)</a><br /></p><p><br /></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-22206402699800818672020-08-07T11:28:00.004+01:002020-08-07T11:30:29.747+01:00ESG: How will 'Racial Justice' be measured?<p>This initiative has the potential to become a never-ending saga. How many angels can dance on the tip of a needle? Will rating agencies become the arbiters? (and charge you a hefty fee for this?)<br /><span style="font-size: small;">(7-Aug-2020)</span><br /></p><p><a href="https://www.ai-cio.com/news/racial-injustice-will-greater-weight-esg-scores-sp-global-says/">Racial Injustice Will Have Greater Weight in ESG Scores, S&P Global Says</a><br /></p>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-27251871366776468512020-07-31T10:42:00.002+01:002020-07-31T10:42:13.020+01:00The real problem with Buy-BacksMost debates about pros and cons misses the point: buy-backs are an
ineffective way to 'return' capital to shareholders. Managements have as
much insight about future share prices as the average investor, be it
Joe Blogs or a 'Professional'. If shares are bought at too high a level
it is obvious value destruction. One might as well have given
shareholders cash and let them make a decision about whether to buy more
of the company's shares at a certain level or deploy the returned
capital elsewhere. The same applies to situations where management
considers the shares to be undervalued ((and this does not even mention
the aspect of executives playing a
somewhat conflicted game of boosting the value of their share or option
packages).<br />
So basically all the buy-back activity is nothing but guesswork and
punting on the share price that should not be the task of management. It
should just do the job of running the business.<br />
Of course, there is an element of price manipulation - and that seems to
be the major factor behind all the buy-back activity. But the sad
example of General Electric demonstrates that management should not be
able to roll the dice in the stock market casino.<br /><div>
Returning money to shareholders should not mean that some sellers get a
(manipulated) exit price while those shareholders that don't sell get no
cash - and may or may not benefit from a short-term boost to the stock
price. For when buy-backs stop the share price may rapidly drop to the
undisturbed neutral price it would trade were there not buy-back
activity</div><div><font size="2">(31-July-2020)</font><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.ft.com/content/1c924be0-5bc0-4eba-a088-b98b13080c04#comments-anchor">US companies cling to share buybacks </a></div>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-57806943493148251592020-07-27T14:37:00.001+01:002020-07-27T14:37:23.760+01:00China: all the ESG Talk is just that, Talk!When the Corporate Governance - in particular the ESG fanatics - are called to perform there is just silence, golden silence!<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(27-July-2020)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wall-street-turns-a-blind-eye-to-atrocities-committed-in-china-2020-07-25?mod=home-page" target="_blank">Wall Street turns a blind eye to atrocities committed in China </a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-80927135062734737782020-07-27T11:04:00.000+01:002020-07-27T11:04:33.770+01:00ESG creates quagmire for Fund ManagersAnd business in general. The demands from lobbies and interest groups will expand and no action by managers and businesses will be enough to satisfy them. Once pandora's box is opened issues that really should be settled in the realm of politics will lead to never-ending complications for what should really be the priority for business and investment - obtaining profits or a satisfactory performance for savers.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(27-July-2020) </span><br />
<a href="https://www.ft.com/content/8ed1aa98-d534-4703-a2b3-dcacdaec83df?emailId=5f1ae681b5c5130004c6a551&segmentId=b24b7365-3058-3306-740e-9eeee4834a62" target="_blank">Boohoo supply chain allegations reveal challenges facing ESG investors</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-11202574700438926922020-07-26T10:26:00.000+01:002020-07-26T10:26:50.533+01:00C.E.O.s Are Qualified to Make Profits, Not Lead SocietyThe self-appointed Governance activists in business and finance should take note. They stray from the original purpose of good Corporate Governance (how companies should be governed in the insterests of the shareholders). Other stakeholder interests can be guarded by proper laws after they have been determined in a democractic process.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(26-July-2020) </span><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/business/ceos-profits-shareholders.html" target="_blank">Interesting Contribution from Gregory Mankiv</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-50644441611270387452020-07-24T13:35:00.001+01:002020-07-24T13:36:04.043+01:00Blackrock's commitment to sustainability - on whose orders?Pious intentions may be to investor's tastes but has Blackrock - or its self-mportant group of Sustainability experts - received any specific mandate from the investors whose money is at risk?<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(24-July-2020) </span><br />
<a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/blackrock-our-commitment-to-sustainability-full-report.pdf" target="_blank">Blackrock: our commitment to sustainability</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-30933249958660110822019-12-06T09:10:00.002+00:002019-12-06T09:11:02.816+00:00Private Equity basically a Conglomerate in DragThat the Head of this 'Private' Equity firm openly states how he controls the CEOs of the companies he controls gives away the fact that PE firms basically are Conglomerates in drag and should never have been allowed to slip under the regulatory mantel designed to protect retail investors from fraudulent investment firms. As a consequence PE promoters enjoy unfair advantages with respect to tax, corporate governance (esp corporate compensation), transparency, treatment of staff and clients. No wonder the universe of listed companies is shrinking fast - and will accelerate if regulations are not changed - FAST!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(6-Dec-2019)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/how-many-goldman-sachs-private-equity-clients-are-preparing-for-a-recession-every-single-one-of-them-2019-12-05?mod=home-page" target="_blank">Marketwatch</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-45483070225708312842019-11-14T19:10:00.000+00:002019-11-14T19:10:42.451+00:00So what value has Kalanick created?Without the employees this company is worth Nada, Zilch, Zippo, Nil - so there is a big fault in the 'Market' System and Capitalism if he can re 'rewarded' to generously (or better: excessively). Would be interesting what Bill Gates or Jamie Dimon with all their wisdom have to say to that!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(14-Nov-2019)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com//news/articles/2019-11-14/kalanick-sells-164-million-more-uber-stock-to-diversify-fortune?srnd=markets-vp" target="_blank">Uber founder cashes in big time</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-30154748456270119092019-08-26T09:54:00.000+01:002019-08-26T09:54:05.935+01:00Why your Fund Manager/Financial Adviser ignores YouNo surprise, there is no proper structure - or even willingness - to incorporate the views of the real end investor/saver into the corporate policies of Fund Managers, Private Banks or other Financial Institutions. All talk about corporate governance is basically only so much (empty?) talk.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(26-August-2019) </span><br />
<a href="https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2019/08/23/why-isnt-your-mutual-fund-sticking-up-for-you/" target="_blank">Why isnt your mutual fund sticking up for you?</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-33082601693183334732019-08-20T08:01:00.001+01:002021-06-22T10:32:08.617+01:00Selling your company to China?The dispute in Hong Kong is far from being settled. But it does not look good for the (semi)independence of the former British Colony. So why the rush to sell to a company from Hong Kong? And if shareholders should no longer be the primary focus of corporations and rank only next to workers, suppliers, customers and the wider community (however defined) - how much longer and under what rules can these sell-outs be allowed to continue? And what good is served if all this transaction does is making Hong Kong's richest man richer still? And how much tax does he pay and where? No good for anyone if he just piles his riches higher and higher - in Hong Kong (where taxes are low to non-existent) or in another tax "friendly" geography.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(20-August-2019)</span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><a href="https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/meet-new-greene-king-hong-18966060" target="_blank">Hong Kong's richest man snaps up British Brewer</a> </span><br />
<br />Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-48768113952775534452019-08-19T13:26:00.002+01:002019-08-19T13:26:55.356+01:00I do like to be working for an AssociationNearly as good as to be beside the seaside: to work for one of the Associations that(claim) to work for the good of investors. AFME (also known as the Association for Financial Markets in Europe) pays its top executive £1.7 Mio in 2018 and he is 'understood' to be in line for £2 Mio in 2019. This is a huge number that is totally out of proportion given that staffing and pay in the sectors the AFME is representing is under pressure. The chief of the Investment Association - a lobby group that is looking after the interests of savers in a more direct fashion than the lobby for market professionals - pockets a relatively paltry£666,000 in 2018. How any of the member firms of these two lobbies can claim to protect the interests of investors/savers is difficult to imagine as they seem to be incapable (unwilling?) to keep their own houses in order.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(19-August-2019)</span>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-58515627814628522292019-08-19T13:03:00.001+01:002019-08-19T13:04:02.136+01:00Climate Change, Diversity, Human Rights, Income Equality<span class="ember-view" id="ember1840">Climate Change, Diversity, Human Rights, Income Equality - all very worthy causes but the solution is not to push business to provide all the answers. That just means that politicians are left off the hook as they should be providing a framework that can take care of these issues.</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span class="ember-view" id="ember1840">Use too much coal, oil? - There is a simple solution and it is not so prone to be aubused fraudulently than the carbon tax: higher taxes on production/sale.</span></li>
<li><span class="ember-view" id="ember1840">Diversity - simple legislation can mandate ratios for different ages, sexes, even 'races', but get a democratic majority for any law (and please, not just 50.1%)
</span></li>
<li><span class="ember-view" id="ember1840">Human Rights - Don't ask managements to judge in which countries a business should operate, again, politics needs to make a (democratic) decision.</span></li>
<li><span class="ember-view" id="ember1840">Income Inequality - no point moaning, too many pieces of legislation further growing inequality and achieve the opposite of what politicians claim they try to.<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(19-August-2019)</span><br /> </span></li>
</ul>
Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-24494139803587653352019-08-05T08:31:00.002+01:002021-06-22T10:33:18.519+01:00Another Public Company disappears in the Maw of 'Private' EquityIn this age of growing concern about Inequality it is a slap in the face of ordinary investors - let alone citizens - if more and more public companies get gobbled up by financial engineers and their conspirators among dominant shareholders and management. Apart from the problem that benefits of the Private Equity industry are disputed - there was hardly ANY private equity to speak of before the mid-1980s and the world was doing quite well without it - the distributional effects are clear for all to see: Who else but promoters of the industry can spend millions on a birthday party? why should public companies show restraint in relation to executive compensation when promoters and their hired guns in management don't disclose their pay packets? They probably get paid amounts that would sometimes be multitudes of what senior executives in public companies can earn. It is clear that mechanisms to protect public shareholders from having their companies taken away on less than attractive terms are not up to the task. Who cares about Wider Shareownership or the Shareholder Democracy? Rome's decline started when wealth got concentrated in the hands of the few.<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(5-August-2019) </span><br />
<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-axel-springer-m-a-kkr/kkr-buyout-at-axel-springer-clears-minimum-acceptance-threshold-idUSKCN1UV0HI?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FbusinessNews+%28Business+News%29" target="_blank">Springer Buy-out on track</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5482027056454484774.post-23623435524685111212019-05-18T14:47:00.000+01:002019-05-18T14:47:19.475+01:00Anyone still thinks that investment fiduciaries should run Corporate Governance?Who are the 90% that waved through Lloyds Bank CEO Horta-Osorio's pension? The missing link in the whole debate about corporate governance, and inequality in particular, is the lack of any control that real end investors - the man/woman on the street whose savings are at stake - have over the actions that fiduciaries (and fund managers do NOT own any shares!). And make one guess how fund managers associated with Lloyds Bank voted. <br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">(18-May-2019)</span><br />
<a href="https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/mps-pile-pressure-on-greedy-lloyds-over-pay-and-pensions-20190515" target="_blank">Lloyds wins backing for CEO’s pension — but 10% of shareholders dissent</a>Heinz Geyerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18074243078564794000noreply@blogger.com0