Responsible investing must come clean about Volkswagen. Too many funds rated it highly on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). Collateral damage will run well beyond the car sector. Already, the scandal has tarnished the brands of Volkswagen and Germany, with their reputations for trust and engineering excellence. But it is not just about mis-selling cars. […]
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Tag Archives: stewardship
Tougher regulation needed for UK listed company directors
September 7, 2015 
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A gap has opened up in UK regulation, leaving investors exposed to Companies Act and accounting issues without a clear remedy. Despite all the focus on governance and stewardship, investors are still getting nasty surprises. Tesco and Quindell are perhaps just the highest profile of those involved in further investigations. Making the stockmarket safer should […]
Continue reading Audit firm governance needs to reflect the public interest
June 10, 2015 0 Comments
Is audit quality good enough? In large part that must depend on how well firms that carry out audits are run, and the Financial Reporting Council has opened a consultation on its governance code for such firms. The Audit Firm Governance Code dates to 2010, when the FRC introduced it to address audit problems from […]
Continue reading Who wins from ‘adjusting’ earnings per share? Time for some rules.
March 3, 2015 0 Comments
Most companies in this results season are delivering reassuring updates, but can investors trust the numbers? Tesco’s issues have not only rattled its own shareholders; across the market, analysts wonder how widespread accounting concerns might be. Growth is scarce, and CEOs are under pressure to deliver. This has put more emphasis on presentation; but recent […]
Continue readingCFA UK’s Professionalism Conference on Friday April 19th : free event
March 27, 2013 0 Comments
I am participating in a panel discussion on stewardship at CFA UK’s Professionalism Conference on Friday April 19th. The conference is designed to provide practical guidance on building and maintaining an ethical and professional culture in investment management firms. The conference starts at 1pm and is being held at the Americas Square Conference Centre, London […]
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Behavioural Edge 
PwC Survey shows slow progress on UK executive pay and bonuses.
The latest PwC survey on executive pay and rewards in the FTSE 100 is presented as an improving trend. Yet it is remarkable that just 36% make full disclosure of bonus benchmarks. There is little sign of realism in incentives; many rewards remain detached from sustainable value creation. Too many do not disclose numbers to […]
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