The Active Shareholder initiative, launched by a group of nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), is one of those things that make so much sense you wonder why someone didn’t do it earlier.A big part of the reason is that the majority of beneficial shareholders (pensioners, workers, savers) are overwhelmed by the complexity involved in exercising their rights. And most feel they’re not significant enough to make a difference. So they abdicate the responsibility attached to that right to fund managers. This means fund managers essentially assume the role of shareholder. In an age of shareholder supremacy, when companies are encouraged to do whatever is good for shareholders, this gives fund managers enormous power. They are able to decide what is, or is not, good for shareholders. But now a determined group of NGOs has decided it’s time to take back the responsibility attached to their share portfolio and they have put in place a system that allows them to vote their shares. Active Sha...
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