Tag: Corporate Governance

Feature Image Ep John Coffee
Improving Alpha: John Coffey’s blueprint for a shadow SEC and further regulations under a new Trump Administration

Improving Alpha: John Coffey’s blueprint for a shadow SEC and further regulations under a new Trump Administration

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In just a few days the second Trump administration will be sworn in to the office of the presidency. There has already been a lot of debate around security regulations and what that might mean for institutional investors. Could we see Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies go higher, how will carbon emissions be regulated and reported to investors, and how will active, index, and quantitative investors be impacted by this new administration.

In our first 2025 episode of the Improving Alpha podcast, host Michael Oliver Weinberg sits down with John C. Coffee, Jr., Adolf A. Berle Professor of Law, Columbia Law School to explore these issues while presenting case examples covering Elon Musk’s compensation battles, SouthWest Airlines, and more.

John further highlights his insights on: 

  • The formation and purpose of a shadow SEC to advise on current securities regulation issues and hopefully keep Congress from legislating in a manner that disrupts the actual SEC.
  • The three major institutional investment groups holding over 70% of US public corporations’ stocks and how they approach policy changes and systemic risk.
  • what is the right amount of institutional investment intelligence regarding carbon emissions today?
  • the Delaware Court’s competence on rulings in governance, and corporate law versus other state court approaches.
  • activist investing and how he came to write, The Wolf at the Door: The Impact of Hedge Fund Activism on Corporate Governance.
  • And more

Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg: 

Connect with John Coffee:

About Our Guest:

A prolific scholar, sought-after speaker, and frequent news commentator, John C. Coffee Jr. is active in several fields and is a recognized leading authority on securities law, corporate governance, white-collar crime, complex litigation, and class actions.

Coffee has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a life fellow of the European Corporate Governance Institute and the American Bar Foundation. He has also been repeatedly listed by the National Law Journal on its annual list of the 100 most influential lawyers in America.

The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.

The release date may not correspond to the recording date.

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Improving Alpha: Shivaram Rajgopal on Ways to Eliminate Governance Disengagement and Zombie Organizations

Improving Alpha: Shivaram Rajgopal on Ways to Eliminate Governance Disengagement and Zombie Organizations

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If you are a CEO at a large public company, who do you speak with when concerned about strategy, formulation of innovative ideas, or even execution of a plan to scale your business investments? Many believe that unless there’s a large activist event or news story, decision-making is solely your own. Is there a way to bring back active governance and drive engagement from board members and investors?

In this latest installment of the Improving Alpha: Innovation in Investing, ESG, and Technology podcast Michael Oliver Weinberg and Shivaram, Rajgopal, Roy Bernard Kester and T.W. Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing; Chair of the Accounting Division, Columbia University explore the challenges in corporate governance. Shivaram goes into what makes governance so difficult, the impact of corporate boards on the direction of governance, and why governance can be imagined as a slow-burning background fire that isn’t significant enough to spark investor attention.

Additional Shivaram highlights include: 

  • his early background as a chartered accountant and what led him to Columbia Business School.
  • where do CEOs go if they want to improve their strategy, execution and formulation in governance, especially when it seems there’s no one on the other side listening outside of an activist event.
  • why are companies in the S&P 1500 becoming zombies (in the economic sense), and getting capital that they don’t deserve instead of someone making the hard decisions to kick out of the index.
  • what is the right timeframe to hold an investment in today’s market and is private equity superior to public equity to optimize long-term performance.
  • how can the carrot and stick theory help governance when looking at board structures.
  • what is causing the Japanese markets to model our investment texts (decades later), and why is this so important to governance.
  • When looking at Europe, where are the European Uber, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, or Tesla, and how the governance code impacts their innovation.
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Shivaram Rajgopal:

Connect with Michael Oliver Weinberg: 

About Our Guest:

Shiva Rajgopal is the Roy Bernard Kester and T.W. Byrnes Professor of Accounting and Auditing at Columbia Business School. He has also been a faculty member at the Duke University, Emory University and the University of Washington. Professor Rajgopal’s research interests span financial reporting, earnings quality, fraud, executive compensation and corporate culture.  His research is frequently cited in the popular press, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Bloomberg, Fortune, Forbes, Financial Times, Business Week, and the Economist. He teaches fundamental analysis of financial statements for investors, managers and entrepreneurs and a PhD seminar on accounting regulation.

 

The information covered and posted represents the views and opinions of the guest and does not necessarily represent the views or opinions of Vidrio Financial, and/or our host, Michael Oliver Weinberg. The Content has been made available for informational and educational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional investing advice. Always seek the advice of your financial advisor or other qualified financial service provider with any questions you may have regarding your investment planning.

The release date may not correspond to the recording date.