Sunday, April 10, 2022

"Three ongoing mega-trends are reshaping corporate governance" (or How Larry Fink and 11 Other Individuals Will Have Power Over the Majority of Public Companies)

Dean/Professor Coates knows some stuff. He is sort of an adjunct professor with tenure.

From John Coates at Harvard Law School:

The Future of Corporate Governance Part I:
The Problem of Twelve

First Draft: June 24, 2018 
This Draft: September 20, 2018

Three ongoing mega-trends are reshaping corporate governance: indexing, private equity, and globalization. These trends threaten to permanently entangle business with the state and create organizations controlled by a small number of individuals with unsurpassed power. 

The essay focuses on indexation. After providing background, the essay describes the rise of and reasons for indexation, noting that “passive” indexed investing takes a variety of forms. Data on indexation are presented -- with the bottom line that indexation has progressed farther than most realize, because foreign ownership, institutional indexation, and “closet” indexation are often neglected by observers. Index providers’ incentives, resources, and methods are reviewed, with an emphasis on the how such providers have greater practical importance than simpler analytical approaches might suggest. The essay ends with an outline of policy options, and preliminary analyses of which seem likely to address the “ Problem of Twelve” – the likelihood that in the near future roughly twelve individuals will have practical power over the majority of U.S. public companies 

....MUCH MORE

Earlier today:
BlackRock And Larry Fink's Power (BLK)