Giovanni Strampelli

The Case for Institutional Investors’ Collective Engagements

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Shareholder cooperation is on the rise as a tool for active corporate ownership and a way to effectively voice concerns about corporate governance and performance. While “wolf packs” of activist hedge funds that aim to bring about significant corporate change at targeted companies have attracted the most attention, there are other forms of shareholder coordination that are not activist-driven.

One is collective engagement by institutional investors guided by the recommendations in stewardship principles adopted in several countries. Over the last few years, representative organizations such as, to some extent, the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) in the U.S. and, to … Read more

How to Enhance Directors’ Independence at Controlled Companies

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While director independence has become a topic of global importance, the definition of independence and the role of independent directors remain unsettled, depending largely on ownership patterns, industry structure, and regulatory goals. The main agency problem in diffusely owned firms is opportunism on the part of the management, and independent directors are required to protect the interests of shareholders vis-à-vis the management, In controlled firms, however, independent directors are mainly called upon to protect minority shareholders vis-à-vis controlling shareholders. Therefore, in a context of concentrated ownership, independent directors are mainly responsible for vetting operations involving conflicts of interest and preventing … Read more

Corporate Governance Consequences of Passive Investing

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The popularity of index funds, which automatically track an index of stocks, is continuing to grow in the U.S, and, albeit less intensely, in the EU. Due to the high concentration of the index funds industry, the exponential rise of mutual funds designed to track stock indices has had significant corporate governance implications. Specifically, passive investing significantly affects listed companies’ ownership on both sides of the Atlantic. The three leading passive fund managers (BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street) make up an increasingly important component of the shareholder base of listed companies, as they hold relevant stakes (usually not exceeding 5 … Read more

Preserving Capital Markets Efficiency in the High-Frequency Trading Era

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Automation and new technology have dramatically changed trading on equity markets over  the past 20 years, and algorithmic and High-Frequency Trading (HFT) have become prominent in U.S. and European financial markets, while regulation has been slow to adapt. Despite increasing liquidity, narrowing spreads, and diminishing short-term volatility, HFT can lower market quality and stability and render marketplaces more vulnerable, especially during crises or periods of uncertainty.

Regulations affecting HFT have prioritized, in both the U.S. and Europe, preventing market disruption and manipulation, while failing to closely consider how HFT-related inequalities in information interact with the allocative function of price discovery. … Read more

How to Encourage Dialogue Between Boards and Institutional Investors in the U.S. and the EU

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With institutional shareholders playing a growing role in corporate governance, dialogue between boards and shareholders is increasingly common in the U.S. and Europe. Talking with boards is essential to institutional investors’ stewardship functions, and engaging with institutional investors has become a focus of listed companies’ communication strategies. Empirical analysis shows that private discussions with directors have become institutional investors’ preferred method of engagement, and they resort to shareholder proposals, public criticism, and similar practices only if private conversations fail.

Nevertheless, meetings between directors and institutional investors raise legal concerns in the U.S. and the EU, because they may lead to … Read more