Edward Elgar Publishing Corporate Governance and Investment Management: The Promises and Limitations of the New Financial Economy

Shareholder engagement with publicly listed companies is often seen as a key means to monitor corporate performance and behavior. In this book, the authors examine the corporate governance roles of key institutional investors in UK corporate equity, including pension funds, insurance companies, collective investment funds, hedge and private equity funds and sovereign wealth funds. The authors argue that institutions' corporate governance roles are an instrument ultimately shaped by private interests and market forces, as well as law and regulatory obligations, and that policy-makers should not readily make assumptions regarding their effectiveness, or their alignment with public interest or social good. They critically discuss the possibilities and limitations of shareholder stewardship i.e. the UK Stewardship Code and the EU Shareholder Rights Directive 2017 as well as explore various reforms of the UK pension fund structures, including the Local Government Pension Funds reform, the move from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes and implications for funds' asset allocation, investment management and corporate governance roles. This book will be of interest to academics in corporate law and governance as well as those in the corporate governance industry, such as institutions, trade associations, proxy advisors and other corporate governance service providers. Think tanks and research institutes tied to institutional investment, corporate governance, law and business may also be a key audience. Review 'In this thought-provoking and much-needed work, Barker and Chiu cast an informed and critical eye over the investment and governance practices of institutional fund managers, together with the limitations of the applicable regulatory framework. In doing so, they highlight the impracticability of many of the expectations that have been placed on the sector over recent years, before setting out an alternative normative paradigm for future public policymaking in this field. This book is a must-read not just for scholars and students of corporate governance and financial market regulation, but also for policymakers in search of a fresh handle on a difficult current problem.'--Marc Moore, University of Cambridge, UK'Institutional investors are in the position to control many of the listed companies in the US and the UK thanks to their aggregate voting power. Can they credibly support and encourage long-term value creation at those companies? Barker and Chiu's book provides not only the legal framework to answer this fundamental question, but also a sharp and disenchanted sketch of the shortcomings of the financier capitalism model. Academics, policymakers and other concerned readers will find here plenty of food for thought to address the challenges and implications of this stage of capitalism.'--Luca Enriques, University of Oxford, UK'In this insightful new book, the authors provide a wide-ranging analysis of modern asset management, and highlight its increasingly influential role as an owner of corporate equity. Their scepticism about the capacity of the industry to fulfill a meaningful stewardship role in investee companies may well prove prescient, and should inform the current policy debate on corporate governance.'--Andrew Clare, Cass Business School, UK About the Author Roger M. Barker, Managing Director, Barker & Associates and Iris H.-Y. Chiu, Professor of Corporate Law and Financial Regulation, University College London, UK