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Chris Pinney
In 21st century governance challenge

The End of Sovereignty: The Challenge to Investors

This year, there have been many important developments in the discussion on the role of investors in corporate responsibility and leadership in a global society. In the spring PGIM, the global investment management businesses of Prudential Financial, Inc. (PFI) and one of the top 10 largest global investment firms, issued a provocative paper titled The End of Sovereignty, on globalization, nationalism and the implications for institutional investors. The paper explores how the sovereignty of nation-states is now challenged by the forces of globalization and technology beyond their direct control. It notes that 70 of the top 100 global “economies” are…

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Chris Pinney
In 21st century governance challenge, Business leadership in society

Is It Time to Rethink Corporate Governance?

  For the last fifty years, the mandate and role for corporate governance have been set within well-defined boundaries, in which the business of business was business and the well-being of society was the responsibility of governments. This paradigm was summed up succinctly in 1970 by economist Milton Friedman who noted, “There is one and only one social responsibility of business — to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game.” Today, thanks to globalization and the international economy, we live in a world in…

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High Meadows Institute
In 21st century governance challenge

Recommended Reading

What the Wells Fargo Crackdown Signals to Corporate America The Federal Reserve’s recently imposed penalties on Wells Fargo diverge from President Trump’s stated position on de-regulation. However, Peter Henning of the New York Times sees the “crackdown” as a one-off penalty and not a sign of broader industry regulation to come.   Unilever Threatens to Reduce Ad Spending on Tech Platforms That Don’t Combat Divisive Content Unilever, long viewed as a leader in corporate social responsibility, recently announced that the company will no longer advertise on platforms that are not “committed to creating a positive impact in society.” The company…

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Chris Pinney
In 21st century governance challenge, Business leadership in society, Future of capital markets

BlackRock’s Larry Fink Redefines the Rules of the Game for Business

For the last 47 years, since September 1970, financial markets have been guided by the maxim articulated by Milton Friedman on the “rules of the game” for business. “There is one and only one social responsibility of business–to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” On January 18th this maxim was overturned by the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest institutional investor. In his letter to CEOs, Larry Fink said, “Society…

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High Meadows Institute
In 21st century governance challenge

Recommended Reading

BlackRock Message: Contribute to Society or Risk Losing Our Support Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock (the largest investor in the world), is sending a letter to the world’s largest public companies letting them know that in addition to turning a profit, they have to show that they are doing good in the world to receive BlackRock’s support–and a share of its $6 trillion AUM. In the letter, Fink shares HMI’s perspective that government is not doing enough to prepare for future and the onus now rests on the private sector to address societal challenges. Wall Street Fighters, Do-Gooders—And Sting—Converge…

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High Meadows Institute
In ESG, Future of capital markets

ESG Integration in Investment Management: Myths and Realities

Until very recently, there has been considerable doubt, especially among mainstream investors, that companies with high ESG “scores” could succeed in producing competitive returns for their shareholders. Studies of the last three decades of the 20th century have reported that what was then known as Socially Responsible Investing (or SRI)—an investment approach that worked mainly by screening out the companies with the lowest ESG scores or entire industries such as tobacco and alcohol—produced shareholder returns that were often below market averages. And this finding has in turn contributed to the widespread perception that corporate efforts to address environmental and social…

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High Meadows Institute
In Bottom line for business, ESG

Finding the Signal in the Noise

The practice of integrating ESG factors into investment decisions is growing, but are asset managers and owners making the right decisions about which factors to focus on? The answer is, not often enough, despite research by George Serafeim and others at Harvard Business School which concluded that company financial performance is only improved if a given ESG factor or issue is relevant, or material, to that company in its industry peer group. As a growing number of asset owners and asset managers are interested in integrating material ESG factors into their investment decisions. Those not yet involved in the practice…

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Chris Pinney
In Business leadership in society

Fighting climate change with active engagement

With a stroke of his pen, President Donald Trump took a major step toward eliminating his predecessor’s landmark climate policy — the Clean Power Plan. Unveiled by President Obama in August 2015, the plan sought to fight global warming by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. Now, under President Trump, the plan and other environmental policies are in more danger than ever. Some investors might be tempted to approach this new normal by reinvesting in oil and gas. But thus far, the reaction has been more muted. Read more in Pensions&Investments.

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Chris Pinney
In ESG

Widening Our View of ESG Investing

ESG investing strategies—investing plans that align with a healthy environment, social responsibility, and good governance—are some of the fastest-growing strategies in asset management. According to a report from the US SIF Foundation, US institutional assets invested in ESG strategies reached $8.72 trillion in 2016, up 32.7 percent from 2014. ESG’s appeal isn’t limited to larger investors; ESG mutual funds are among the most talked-about consumer investment products on the market. Approximately $81 billion of environmentally friendly “green bonds” were issued last year, according to data from the Climate Bonds Initiative, providing institutional and retail investors a way to engage in ESG investing….

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Chris Pinney
In ESG

Asness and Sorkin Miss the Point When It Comes to ESG

When a leading investment professional like Cliff Asness and a respected journalist like Andrew Ross Sorkin offer their opinions, mainstream investors tend to listen. It’s unfortunate, then, that both these pundits have recently added to the confusion about the impact of ESG on investment returns. More importantly, neither offer any practical insight into how to breakthrough this confusion and how to use ESG as a value driver for both investors and society. In a recent blog post titled “Virtue is its Own Reward: Or, One Man’s Ceiling is Another Man’s Floor,” Asness laid out his argument for why ESG investing…

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