NEWSLETTER of September 11, 2020

The following content has been added at finexpert:

KfW
KFW-IFO-MITTELSTANDS­BAROMETER
The KfW-ifo SME barometer family of indicators is based on a size-class related evaluation of the ifo business surveys, from which, among other things, the well-known ifo business climate index is calculated. Every month, around 9,000 companies from the manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail sectors as well as services (excluding banking, insurance and government) are surveyed on their economic situation, including around 7,500 SMEs. >more

EY
2020 EY CLIMATE CHANGE AND SUSTAINABILITY SERVICES INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR SURVEY
Research from the 2020 EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services (CCaSS) Institutional Investor survey suggests that ESG information has never been more important, with the majority of investors surveyed (98%) signalling a move to a more disciplined and rigorous approach to evaluating companies’ nonfinancial performance. >more

Lazard
GLOBAL HEALTHCARE LEADERS STUDY 2020
Lazard’s Healthcare Group completed its third in-depth study of global healthcare industry leaders, surveying 184 C-level executives and 37 investors across three sectors: Biopharmaceuticals; Medical Devices and Diagnostics; and Healthcare Services. >more

ValueTrust Financial Advisors
EUROPEAN CAPITAL MARKET STUDY
ValueTrust publishes the sixth edition of the European Capital Market Study (version: June 30, 2020), which analyses the relevant capital cost parameters and multipliers for the European capital market on an aggregated level. >more

GOVERNANCE CHANGES THROUGH SHAREHOLDER INITIATIVES: THE CASE OF PROXY ACCESS
Tara Bhandari, Peter Iliev, and Jonathan Kalodimos
2019
We study a regulatory change that permitted shareholder proposals to instate proxy access. It generated over 300 proposals and led more than 250 firms to adopt proxy access from 2012 to 2016. The firms expected to benefit most from proxy access have the most positive market reaction to receiving a proposal. However, proposals and adoptions are not concentrated at these firms, instead being common at large, well-governed firms. We provide evidence of the tactics used by management to resist proxy access at firms that stand to benefit, and demonstrate that shareholders oppose proxy access more where they have large holdings. >more

THE IMPACT OF STRONGER SHAREHOLDER CONTROL ON BONDHOLDERS
Sadra Amiri-Moghadam, Siamak Javadi, and Mahdi Rastad
2018
We study the impact of stronger shareholder control on bondholders. We find that the passage of shareholder-sponsored governance proposals causes a decline in CDS spreads, indicating a net positive effect on bondholders. Evidence suggests that the direct benefit of stronger shareholder control, through “management disciplining” channel, is larger than the combined adverse effects of directly escalating shareholder-bondholder conflict and indirectly exacerbating exposure to shareholder opportunism. Results are stronger for firms with existing high levels of shareholder-bondholder conflict and for proposals that mitigate managerial entrenchment without exacerbating risk-shifting. Finally, stronger shareholder control improves credit ratings and operating performance in the long-term. >more