Notes from The Deal Corporate Governance Conference which took place on the 7th of June, 2018. Find the previous coverage here and full notes here.
For the third year, Jim Cramer and The Deal will host an exclusive gathering of corporate decision makers and their key advisors to discuss the best strategies to meet and master the latest and most critical challenges in managing their companies to maximize shareholder value. The Deal Corporate Governance Conference’s keynotes, one-on-one interviews and panel discussions will provide actionable insights into how to identify and implement practices that rise to the occasion.
Q1 hedge fund letters, conference, scoops etc, Also read Lear Capital: Financial Products You Should Avoid?
Paul Singer
- 70 engagements
- Why is there a discrepancy about who you are and what you do?
- Some of narrative driven by ideology and opposition to shareholder control and activism
- Public capitalism vs private ownership
- Public capitalism à spreading wealth building and ownership to whatever you want
- Board of director selected by management, management minimal stake à upside down and no accountability
- Drift of shareholder capitalism, away from control
- Hard for shareholders to make a difference
- Dispersion of power
- Defense bar to defend against activists
- No force to vet if management is deserving to survive challenge
- What are your criteria for accepting and defending clients?
- Staggered boards
- Rather than elected every year
- Super voting stock
- Passive investment
- What will be challenge for them? Making judgments on actual strategies and making money and focusing on the business
- Movement to change on filing requirements
- Hard to build a position and will get harder
- Risk management and strategic position à when building a position
- Passive investing trend is pointing one way
- Reduction of active other direction
- Who is going to do the work? Who incentivized to work?
- Costs millions to hire analysts and consultants
- Why defense brings up short termism?
- Defense included ideology, un truth
- Quarterly guidance should be reduced or eliminated
- I agree, not a bad idea
- Corporate shareholder activism, risk management
- Citrus sticky product and wasted money acquisitions
- 15% normalized increase over market as whole, from their activist campaign start till today
- How do you see if someone is a good manager if they are going for social purpose?
- Be profitable, great organization and good citizen
- When you take other considerations à eye of beholder
- Conceptual mess because what are you chasing in terms of social purpose
- Defense wants to control narratives
- People say that you dig dirt on companies to try to push your agenda
Continues here