Towards shareholder stewardship

WHO should be responsible for the corporate governance of a company?

Invariably, the answers that are given to this question include: the board of the company; its management; and maybe even the regulators. Rarely are shareholders mentioned.

This is largely because, while they enjoy voting and economic rights as part-owners, they owe no legal duty to act in the best interest of the company. In fact, they can (and often do) act mainly in their own personal interest, sometimes at the expense of the interest of other stakeholders. But that position is changing.

The shareholder stewardship movement

Across the world, investors (institutional investors, especially, because they are seen to have the means and clout) are being asked to take up the mantle of responsibility to uphold good governance in the companies they…