Activism v. Private Equity, Cybersecurity, State Street on ESG
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Barbarians and Raiders in the same arena. Bloomberg highlights a trend that’s been building for several years now: private equity firms taking on the role of shareholder activists. KKR made waves this month when it filed a 13D at Dave & Buster’s, having set aside a big chunk of cash for toe-hold investments back in 2016. TPG is following in KKR’s footsteps, Bloomberg reports.
For years, companies and boards have heard from corporate governance wonks about the need for strong cybersecurity protocols. Now they’re hearing from U.S. regulators. The Wall Street Journal reported this week that the U.S. SEC is recommending best practices for financial services companies after running audits on the firms.
State Street stepped up its efforts to hold directors accountable when it comes to ESG standards. Starting this coming proxy season, State Street will vote against directors who fail to measure up to the asset manager’s “responsibility factor” metric, and who fail to articulate how the company will improve on its ESG principles. SSGA CEO Cyrus Taraporevala called long-term performance “a matter of value, not values.”
Have a great weekend,
Mike and Gabriella
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Bloomberg: Private Equity Takes on Friendly Activists at Own Game
KKR, TPG launching strategies targeting public companies; Move comes as activists have been taking a softer approach
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The Wall Street Journal: SEC Urges Better Cybersecurity Practices at Financial Firms
Regulator details strong safeguards it has observed at companies it oversees
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Financial Times: State Street vows to turn up the heat on ESG standards
Fund manager will vote against boards of companies that lag behind peers
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Financial Times: Investor inaction: a story behind Australia’s wildfires
Pressure builds on reticent pension funds and asset managers to treat global warming seriously
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Financial Times: Mason Morfit takes charge at ValueAct — 13 years after being tipped
Activist fund chief’s constructive approach hits right chord
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Reuters Breakingviews: Victory Over Elliott Comes With Baggage
The French IT group won a $4.1 bln bid to take control of Altran, which the New York activist tried to veto. The victory is a coup for CEO Paul Hermelin, who steps down in May. But Elliott can block a full takeover. That presents an integration headache for successor Aiman Ezzat
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Vox: Hundreds of Amazon employees plan to risk their jobs this week by violating company policy
Workers say Amazon threatened to fire employees who criticized its environmental policies; now, they’re planning to speak out en masse
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Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance: Board Composition and Shareholder Proposals
A post from Clearly Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton focuses on investors’ evolving demands of company boards
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State Street Global Advisors: CEO's Letter on Our 2020 Proxy Voting Agenda
State Street Global Advisors' President and CEO Cyrus Taraporevala reiterates SSGA's commitment to sustainability and vows to use its voting power to press companies on ESG issues
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A first-ever event for Bloomberg. Speakers include Cristiano Guerra, Managing Director, Special Situations Research at ISS; and Don Bilson, Head of Event-Driven Research at Gordon Haskett.
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Speakers include the Wall Street Journal duo that covers WeWork; The Honorable Kathaleen McCormick, Vice Chancellor, Delaware Court of Chancery; Alex Stamos, former Chief Security Officer at Facebook.
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Speakers include Elad Roisman, SEC; James Williams, U.S. Dept. of Labor; Elisse Walter, Occidental Director
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Speakers include Starboard's Jeff Smith, Corvex's Keith Meister, Elliott's Jesse Cohn and Impactive Capital's Lauren Taylor Wolfe.
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This year's 25th annual conference will be dedicated to Rockefeller University scientists working on some of the highest-risk, highest-reward projects primed to advance the treatment of pediatric brain cancer. Speakers include Richard Barton, Co-Founder & CEO, Zillow Group; and Bihua Chen, Founder & Portfolio Manager, Cormorant.
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