Loading ...Lack of board independence may make UK investment trusts targets for activist shareholders according to Simon Westlake at City of London Investment Group, a big activist investor in emerging market investment trusts. “Some boards have been too much in the pocket of the managers and the managers see discount control as a threat as
|
||||||
|
February’s Guest Article is by Louise Rouse, FairPensions’ Director of Investor Engagement and looks at their recent initiative to engage with leading oil producers about their oil sands projects The 2010 AGM season could herald both a new era of public accountability for companies and their investors and a template for future Ball Corp, an Indiana-incorporated company, has faced shareholder proposals in four of the past five years (2005, 2006, 2008 and 2009) to declassify its board. In each year, despite board opposition, the proposal received majority support from shareholders voting for and against. Despite the message from shareholders, the board took no action to address Leading UK pension investors Hermes and Universities Superannuation Scheme have asked the Dutch Enterprise Chamber to intervene in the Canon-Océ takeover deal. The funds, which collectively own 5.1% of the company have called for an investigation into the negotiations between Canon and Océ about the tender offer for Océ shares and subsequent events. As part of Long-term investors with a focus on overseeing their investments will play a vital role in improving governing practices of companies in which they invest, which can in turn help to avoid future financial crises, according to a new policy brief released today by TIAA-CREF. TIAA-CREF is the New York-based $402 billion retirement plan for the Whilst the future shape of shareholder engagement responsibility is debated in London, Brussels and across continental Europe, the debate in Dublin is a fierce as anywhere. In what is traditionally a very close-knit investment and business community, the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) and the Deputy Prime Minister participated in a full and frank exchange of Shell will be asked to justify its involvement in the controversial Tar Sands oil extraction project later this year following the involvement of 142 investors who have co-filed a shareholder resolution for the company’s AGM in May. The oil sands are the second largest oil resource in the world comprising some 173Bn barrels in reserves. Converting Two US pension funds, the City of Westland Police & Fire Retirement System and the Massachusetts Bricklayers and Masons pension fund have filed a class action lawsuit against Alcon, Novartis and Nestlé, alleging that Novartis’ recent offer for Alcon discriminates against minority shareholders. The complaint against the three Swiss-based companies and several Alcon The Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the UK’s corporate governance regulator, wants to hear from institutional investors in the UK and overseas about its proposals for a new “Stewardship Code” aimed at creating best practice principles for investors when engaging with the UK listed companies. The Stewardship Code is based on a set of principles originally The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS), the second largest public pension fund in the United States, has endorsed the Stewardship Code for institutional investors, becoming the first US-based fund to back the policy, which it called a “standard for good corporate governance.” The Stewardship Code, for which the FRC is to take reponsibility |
|
|||||
|
© 2010 Manifest - The Proxy Voting Agency | ISSN 1745 - 1132 | Log in |
||||||
