Blog

Each of our research projects is supported by working groups attended by our Members, giving them the opportunity to stay abreast of our current thinking while shaping and contributing to our work.

Each stakeholder along the investment value chain must play a role in shifting to longer-term decision making. Today’s investment community, in large part, has become fixated on hitting immediate goals, losing sight of savers’ broader objectives in the process. An effective way for both companies and investors to correct this imbalance is to avoid short-term dialogue, including practices like offering and evaluating quarterly earnings guidance, and instead center their dialogue on strategies that build support for long-term growth.

FCLTGlobal discussed private equity last month in London, where CEO Sarah Williamson joined a panel hosted by Schroders, led by Gavin Ralston, Head of Thought Leadership and Official Institutions.

What will firms do with their newfound capital? While this question remains largely unanswered, new data from Q1 earnings season suggests some of this cash is headed toward the long term.

This questionnaire, created by Prof. Serafeim and Dean Nohria of Harvard Business School, explores the incentives, institutions, and behaviors that give rise to short-termism. Answers reveal the practical levers managers can pull to take a longer-term approach in business and investment decisions.

Spring is in the air and the public company earnings reporting season is upon us - thus begins that familiar, yet often tedious, quarterly dance done by companies and the analysts that cover them. The quarterly earnings call looms large on most corporate calendars, regularly consuming significant amounts of time to prepare, but are investors and companies making the best use of this venue for regular interaction?

On 28 February, the 2018 Focusing Capital on the Long Term Summit convened more than 150 members and select business leaders in a closed-door event to address the problem of short-term behaviors in capital markets.

Should public companies focus on earning profits for their shareholders, or should they serve broader societal needs? Larry Fink, the head of BlackRock, the largest fund manager in the world, recently issued a letter to company CEOs stating: “Companies must benefit all of their stakeholders, including shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities in which they operate.”

Another January has come and gone, and another week of discussions at Davos has drawn to a close.

Asset owners often have very long-term investment goals such as funding liabilities, building an endowment for perpetuity or providing for subsequent generations. For some, especially pension and retirement funds, these goals reflect the long-term needs of individual plan members who rely on these institutions to safeguard and build the savings which they will rely on down the road.

At the Kempen Investment Seminar 4 October in London, FCLTGlobal CEO Sarah Williamson was invited to take part in a discussion on the future of investment mandates.

Short-term oriented investment behaviors continue to hamper prospects for substantial, prolonged growth for many firms in the global business community, yet some of today’s leading companies have proven to be shining examples on how to stay focused on the long term through investor relations. Here are a few of our suggested methods for moving away from quarterly-focused guidance, and real-world examples showing how some are already putting this theory into practice:

Over the past few weeks, FCLTGlobal and several of its Members met at forums in both London and Singapore that underscored the rising importance of long-term decision making to managers and investors internationally, and the rapidly growing desire for change.

FCLTGlobal's Sarah Williamson, CEO, and Matthew Leatherman, Director of Research,recently sat down with Ronald O'Hanley to discuss the importance of long-term investing and the role of the board in affecting long-term change.

Over the past year, we have built on the work of the Focusing Capital on the Long Term Initiative to create a fully functional not-for-profit organization with an ambitious research agenda that is well underway. We wanted to take this opportunity to highlight our progress and thank our members for their contributions to this important work.

Matthew Leatherman, Director of Research at FCLTGlobal, speaks to Theresa Whitmarsh about her commitment to longer horizon investing, corporate governance and the importance of being challenged by your board.

Schroders and FCLTGlobal recently hosted a discussion with leaders from across the investment management industry to discuss how to create a better long-term investment environment in Europe.

Profs. Robert Pozen, Suresh Nallareddy, and Shivaram Rajgopal share their thoughts on a recent study examining the UK’s implementation of quarterly reporting requirements for public companies.