Notes on a flawed study

In October 2012, Investor Responsibility Research (IRRC) Institute and ISS, the proxy management firm, jointly published a study purporting to assess the relative performance of controlled companies listed on exchanges in the United States (the S&P 1500 Composite Index).

The study has received little notice in the Canadian media (but for the Globe and Mail, October 4th 2012) but circulates widely in the financial community as its «findings» buttress the prejudice against dual class share structures.

Unfortunately, that study is sloppy in design, amateurish and misleading in its statistics, biased in its interpretation and irrelevant for Canadian companies. Had that report been submitted as a term paper by first-year MBA students, it would have received a fail grade […] Read more