Leading US investors and business leaders have joined with government, academia, and labour representatives to endorse a public policy paper published by the Aspen Institute  which calls for an end to value-destroying short-termism in the financial markets.

The paper, “Overcoming Short-Termism: A Call for a More Responsible Approach to Investment and Business Management,” is the work of the Institute's  Business & Society Program’s Corporate Values Strategy Group (CVSG. Based on  a set of ideas raised at CVSG meetings, the group identifies three major issues for encouraging a focus on long-term value creation and for addressing shareholder short-termism:

1. Market incentives: encourage more patient capital through tax policy;
2. Alignment: better align the interests of financial intermediaries and their ultimate investors; and
3. Transparency: strengthen investor disclosures.

Among the signers are ICGN stalwarts, Peggy Foran and John Wilcox who have signed in a personal capacity.

“Short-termism must be addressed as a conceptual whole — piecemeal approaches do not work,” said Judith Samuelson, executive director of the Aspen Institute’s Business & Society Program. “Now is the time for bold ideas to drive change in the incentives and behaviors critical to transformation of how value is created and sustained.”

Links

The Aspen Institute >>
Overcoming Short-termism >>
List of Signatories >>