Exactly 50 years ago, economist Milton Friedman argued that corporate boards should focus on maximizing shareholder value and not get wrapped up in trying to achieve other objectives. The conventional wisdom in boardrooms today seems to be that Friedman was wrong. In fact, though, a lot of what he wrote was spot on...
Alecta, a Swedish pension fund with about $110 billion under management, wants to take active investing to a new level to force the companies it owns to be more ethical. Carina Silberg, who runs a newly merged corporate governance and sustainability unit at Alecta, says her team is bringing in reams of data to figure out exactly what portfolio companies are doing when it comes to environmental, social and governance standards...
Norway’s $1.2 trillion wealth fund will publish all voting intentions ahead of shareholder meetings from 2021, which is at least one year earlier than previously indicated...
Most big companies now say that improving racial and ethnic diversity of their workforces is an important goal, particularly after a summer of protests highlighting patterns of systemic racism. Very few of them provide enough information to track their progress...
Shareholder activists are conducting campaigns against a record number of Japanese companies, saying they have more than enough cash to weather the coronavirus...
One of the largest investors in Virtusa Corp. says the information-technology company is turning in a lackluster performance that justifies its push for new board members....
Tesla Inc. directors, including co-founder Elon Musk, awarded themselves massive compensation packages over a three-year period that improperly siphoned hundreds of millions of dollars out of the electric carmaker’s coffers, a pension fund invested in the company alleges...
For two generations, workers’ wages have stagnated. During this period, powerful institutional investors have tied executive pay to stock performance and created a corporate-governance system solely focused on delivering for stockholders...
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban took to Twitter on Friday to warn CEOs that their companies may get “crushed” if executive compensation and reward structures are not re-evaluated...
Activist investor Jana Partners has disclosed a new position in Perspecta Inc. and said it plans to push for changes at the government services contractor, including a potential sale of the company or merger with another firm...
Raytheon Technologies Corp. Chief Executive Officer Greg Hayes spent weeks delivering grim news to employees about furloughs, pay cuts and hiring freezes as the coronavirus pandemic ravaged the economy...
Activist investor Dan Loeb is attempting to scrap a $2.5 billion deal that bet on luxury shoppers’ tax refunds, saying Global Blue SA’s viability is in question as the coronavirus pandemic decimates international travel...
Jupiter Fund Management Plc cleared a potential hurdle in its takeover of rival money manager Merian Global Investorswhen influential investor advisory firms gave their qualified support to the deal...
Activist investor Bill Ackman was so concerned about the potential impact of the coronavirus that he considered liquidating his hedge fund’s entire portfolio for the first time...
Cineworld Group Plc shares fell 42% on concerns about the coronavirus and as its plan to buy Toronto-based cinema chain Cineplex Inc. came under fire from an activist investor...
Bob Iger may not be Walt Disney Co.’s chief executive officer anymore, but criticism of his pay persists...
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to cut pay for some board members to settle a shareholder lawsuit alleging the bank’s compensation plan was too generous...
Evergy Inc. reached a settlement with activist investor Elliott Management Corp. that includes appointing two new directors to the utility’s board...
DoorDash had eight men on its board of directors before August, when it added a woman without fanfare. The addition of Google alumna Shona Brown to its board wasn’t announced by DoorDash for another five months...
A top Barclays Plc shareholder is pushing Chairman Nigel Higgins to end the British lender’s “cycle of disruption” as Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley faces another regulatory probe...
Auto supplier Tenneco Inc. is facing the threat of a proxy battle with an activist investor who has sent a sharply worded letter to directors urging them to sell part or all of the company...
The Houdini-esque escape by Carlos Ghosn from his court-monitored Tokyo residence may be shrouded in intrigue, but one thing has been left in plain sight: A turnaround at Nissan Motor Co. won’t happen any time soon. Whatever he has to say from his refuge in Lebanon will be largely inconsequential for the Japanese car company...
SandRidge Energy Inc., the oil and natural gas producer pushed by activist investor Carl Icahn to pursue a sale last year, said Chief Executive Officer Paul McKinney will resign as the company evaluates its 2020 spending plan...
An activist investor is considering making shareholder proposals at as many as six Japanese companies’ annual general meetings next year, in another sign that money managers are more willing than ever to press the nation’s listed firms to improve performance...