Topic Results: Stakeholders

August 18, 2014

Hedge Fund Activism and their Long-Term Consequences

In our paper “Activist” hedge funds: creators of lasting wealth? What do the empirical studies really say?” (available here), we asked Lucian Bebchuk, Alon Brav and Wei Jiang questions of the sort that any referee/reviewer for a professional journal would raise about their paper The Long-Term Effects of Hedge Fund Activism. Their paper’s aim is […]

July 22, 2014

Do Activist Hedge Funds Really Create Long Term Value?

“About a year ago, Professor Lucian Bebchuk took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to declare that he had conducted a study that he claimed proved that activist hedge funds are good for companies and the economy. Not being statisticians or econometricians, we did not respond by trying to conduct a study proving […]

July 17, 2014

“Activist” hedge funds: creators of lasting wealth? What do the empirical studies really say?

Hedge funds have found, in some academic circles, supporters and champions of their enduring contribution to shareholder wealth. Some recent empirical research has triggered an important debate in the American corporate/financial world about the role of board of directors, the rights of shareholders, and the very concept of the business corporation. The terms of the […]

May 26, 2014

Board Members’ Compensation and Governance: Issues and Challenges

The requirements in credibility, availability and legitimacy of board members have increased substantially since 2000. In that context, directors’ compensation and its impact on their conduct and decisions become salient issues. Yet, directors’ compensation remains a little examined topic of governance. This is why the Institute for Governance (IGOPP) has produced a report prepared by […]

May 26, 2014

Thomas Piketty is no Marxist, he’s a Jacobin!

Piketty totally misses the real driver of this huge increase in compensation of U.S. executives: stock options. Thomas Piketty is a French economist and the omnipresent author of Capital in the 21st Century. Since the publication of the English version of his book, Piketty has become the coqueluche of the American left. Although branded as […]

March 13, 2014

How Quebecor’s press can distance itself from former boss Péladeau

[…] “Péladeau has also insisted he is committed to the code of ethics of the province’s legislature. But provincial academics and experts aren’t confident that goes far enough. “These measures are insufficient,” Yvan Allaire, the executive chairman of the Institute of Governance and professor at the L’Université du Québec à Montréal, wrote in an opinion […]

February 3, 2014

The Governance of Canadian Airports

According to a study made public by the Institute for Governance (IGOPP), Canadian airports, which are public assets with a quasi-monopolistic position in their respective markets should be subjected to an independent review process of their decisions concerning major investments and tariff increases. Ever since Ottawa’s decision to transfer the management of airport facilities to […]

February 3, 2014

The Governance of Canadian Airports

According to a study made public by the Institute for Governance (IGOPP), Canadian airports, which are public assets with a quasi-monopolistic position in their respective markets should be subjected to an independent review process of their decisions concerning major investments and tariff increases. Ever since Ottawa’s decision to transfer the management of airport facilities to […]

January 22, 2014

Background and potential questions for a private session with CEOs

Dr. Yvan Allaire, Executive Chair of the Institute for Governance (IGOPP) and Chair of the Global Agenda Council on the Role of Business- World Economic Forum, has prepared this context paper on the Role of Business which have been presented at the 2014 Davos summit. According to Dr. Allaire, the long-term success and survival of a business […]

January 22, 2014

What is the role of business?

Any business is a risky endeavour with an uncertain life expectancy. It has been, and should remain, a driver of innovation, a creator of wealth, a harbinger of economic freedom. The core mission of a profit-driven enterprise is not to fulfil some philanthropic duty. But neither is it solely to maximize short-term shareholder value. The […]

November 6, 2013

IGOPP Calls for Executive Compensation Reform in Groundbreaking Study

“The Institute for the Governance of Private and Public Organizations (IGOPP) announced today the release of their most recent policy paper on executive compensation, entitled “Pay for Value: Cutting the Gordian Knot of Executive Compensation”. The policy paper, prepared by Professor Yvan Allaire for the working group on compensation of IGOPP, noted that, “We are […]

September 16, 2013

On becoming an activist board!

The governance reforms carried out in publicly traded companies since, if not before, the fiascos called Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Global Crossing, et alia have resulted in boards of directors largely staffed with independent, diligent people with solid business experience. Then, why is it that boards, though dutiful and careful, remain surprise-prone and ill-equipped to challenge […]

June 27, 2013

The Taming of Hostile Takeovers:

On March 13, 2013, the Autorité des marchés financiers and the Canadian Securities Administrators published, for comment, proposed amendments and changes to Multilateral Instrument 62-104 Take-Over Bids and Issuer Bids, National Policy 62-203 Take-Over Bids and Issuer Bids, and National Instrument 62-103 Early Warning System and Related Take-Over Bid and Insider Reporting Issues. On March […]

May 31, 2013

Quebec corporate leaders call for more board power

“Metro Inc. chief executive officer Eric La Flèche is calling for changes to securities regulation so boards can reject hostile takeover bids without presenting the offer to shareholders. New Quebec rallying cry: Save our grocer A Montreal think-tank founded by former premier Jacques Parizeau says Quebec’s “food sovereignty” would be at risk if grocery chain […]

May 31, 2013

Quebec Inc. speaks with one voice on hostile takeovers

[…] “Nearly half of Quebec’s 50 most valuable companies have neither a controlling shareholder nor the protection of dual-class shares. As such, they are technically up for grabs. SNC-Lavalin, Metro, Dollarama, Gildan Activewear and Osisko Mining are the most important by market capitalization. What is more, only eight of those 24 companies are incorporated in […]

May 25, 2013

SNC-Lavalin looking to clean up its reputation

“[…] As the argument goes, SNC-Lavalin is too big to fail. That line of reasoning saved American banks when they created a housing bubble only to have it burst in their face. It also sparked the multi-billion-dollar bailout of North American car companies when the global economy tanked. “There are hundreds if not thousands of professionals […]