Relationship between FTSE boards and asset managers badly deteriorating

Call for reset

The relationship between the boards of UK companies and the asset managers who own most of their equity has badly deteriorated, according to a new report.

The State of Stewardship report from Tulchan interviewed the chairs of 35 FTSE companies, including 26 from the FTSE 100, and saw them lash out against investors for what they called a "lack of alignment between their objectives and those of their shareholders". The chairs pushed back against ‘activist investors', arguing that "box-ticking" exercises over stewardship were distracting companies, and those responsibilities should be delegated to boards. "People run companies, not rules, and boards succeed because their leadership is good," said one anonymous chair, stressing that they b...