Rapporter og tendenser

Blackrocks stifter om behov for ” reshaping of finance ” omkring klima i årets aktionærbrev: ”As an asset manager, BlackRock invests on behalf of others, and I am writing to you as an advisor and fiduciary to these clients. The money we manage is not our own. It belongs to people in dozens of countries trying to finance long-term goals like retirement. And we have a deep responsibility to these institutions and individuals—who are shareholders in your company and thousands of others—to promote longterm value. Climate change has become a defining factor in companies’ long-term prospects. Last September, when millions of people took to the streets to demand action on climate change, many of them emphasized the significant and lasting impact that it will have on economic growth and prosperity—a risk that markets to date have been slower to reflect. But awareness is rapidly changing, and I believe we are on the edge of a fundamental reshaping of finance. The evidence on climate risk is compelling investors to reassess core assumptions about modern finance. Research from a wide range of organizations—including the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the BlackRock Investment Institute, and many others, including new studies from McKinsey on the socioeconomic implications of physical climate risk—is deepening our understanding of how climate risk will impact both our physical world and the global system that finances economic growth.”

SEC forslag til regler om grundigere analyse og kontrol af den lovpligtige revisors uafhængighed: I EU og i Danmark har der været forsøg på at skille den lovpligtige revisors revisionsarbejde fra opgaver relateret til anden rådgivning for at styrke revisors uafhængighed. Hidtil har det været op til selskabet og revisor selv at tolke på reglerne. Det amerikanske finanstilsyn lægger nu op til et nyt regelsæt, hvor der skal være ekstra skarp overvågning og kontrol med revisors uafhængighed. I forslaget fra SEC hedder det, at ”we are proposing amendments to update certain auditor independence requirements as a result of recent feedback received from the public and our experience administering these requirements since their initial adoption nearly two decades ago. The proposed amendments would more effectively focus the independence analysis on those relationships or services that are more likely to pose threats to an auditor’s objectivity and impartiality.”

Aktivistfonde i ny aktivitetsrekord i 2019: I en gennemgang af den øgede aktivistaktivitet fra et af USA’s mest anerkendte advokatfirmaer hedder det, at ”activists set a new record in 2019. According to the Bloomberg 2019 Global Activism Market Review, there were 518 companies targeted by activists deploying stakes aggregating $76 billion. There were a record 99 activist interventions in M&A transactions. There were 118 proxy fights. Elliott Management, followed by Icahn Associates, were the top activists by stake value. Elliott and Starboard Value were the most active by number of targets, with 17 and 13, respectively. Among the 2019 targets were AT&T, CVS Health and Bristol-Myers Squibb. As we have previously noted, regardless of industry, size or performance, no company should consider itself immune from hedge fund activism. No company is too large, too popular, too new or too successful. Even companies that are respected industry leaders and have outperformed the market and their peers have come under fire.”

Nye anbefalinger fra det engelske regnskabsråd (FRC) om governance: ”The FRC published its Annual Review of the UK Corporate Governance Code with a list of recommendations for businesses. It said that a greater focus on longer term sustainability, stakeholder engagement, diversity and corporate culture was needed to improve business standards, in a statement accompanying the report. According to the watchdog, the code has been updated to “build trust by forging strong relationships with key stakeholders”. Specifically, it called on companies to enhance long-term sustainability by aligning purpose, strategy and culture and by promoting integrity and valuing diversity. “While there are examples of high quality governance reporting from ‘early adopters’, looking ahead we expect to see much greater insight into governance practices and outcomes reporting on a range of key issues from diversity to climate change,” said Sir Jon Thompson, chief executive of the FRC.”