Cambridge Handbook of Institutional Investment and Fiduciary Duty

Cambridge University Press, 4/10/2014
EAN 9781107035874, ISBN10: 1107035872

Hardcover, 507 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 3 cm
Language: English

The Cambridge Handbook of Institutional Investment and Fiduciary Duty is a comprehensive reference work exploring recent changes and future trends in the principles that govern institutional investors and fiduciaries. A wide range of contributors offer new perspectives on the dynamics that drive the current emphasis on short-term investment returns. Moreover, they analyze the forces at work in markets around the world which are bringing into sharper focus the systemic effects that investment practices have on the long-term stability of the economy and the interests of beneficiaries in financial, social and environmental sustainability. This volume provides a global and multi-faceted commentary on the evolving standards governing institutional investment, offering guidance for students, researchers and policy-makers interested in finance, governance and other aspects of the contemporary investment world. It also provides investment, business, financial media and legal professionals with the tools they need to better understand and respond to the new financial market challenges of the twenty-first century.

1. Introduction
Part I. Fiduciary Duty
A Global Outlook
2. The public fiduciary - a Canadian perspective
3. The basis of fiduciary duty in investment in the United States
4. Governance and accountability in UK pension schemes
5. Institutional investment and fiduciary duty in Australia
6. The regulation of institutional investment in Sweden
a role-model for the promotion of responsible investment?
7. The Dutch pension system
Part II. Fiduciary Duty and the Landscape of Institutional Investment
8. The philanthropic fiduciary
9. Paradigm lost
employment-based defined benefit plans and the current understanding of fiduciary duty
10. Economically targeted investing
changing of the guard
11. Institutional investment in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
12. Have institutional fiduciaries improved securities class actions? A review of the empirical literature on the PSLRA's Lead Plaintiff Provision
13. The future of fiduciary obligation for institutional investors
Part III. Challenging Conventional Wisdom on Fiduciary Duty
14. Is the search for excessive alpha a breach of fiduciary duty?
15. Fiduciary duty and sin stocks
is vice really nice?
16. Whose risk counts?
17. Sustainability, financial markets and systemic risk
18. Uncertain times, plural rationalities and the pension fiduciary
19. Emotional finance and the fiduciary responsibility of asset managers
Part IV. Towards a Broader Interpretation of Fiduciary Duty
20. Fiduciary duty and the search for a shared conception of sustainable investment
21. Pension fund fiduciary duty and its impacts on sustainable investing
22. Reason, rationality and fiduciary duty
23. Socially responsible investment and the conceptual limits of fiduciary duty
24. Fiduciary duty at the intersection of business and society
25. Challenging conventional wisdom
the role of investment tools, investment beliefs and industry conventions in changing our interpretation of fiduciary duty
Part V. Beneficiaries' Roles and Viewpoints
26. The voice of the beneficiary
27. Understanding the attitudes of beneficiaries
should fiduciary duty include social, ethical and environmental concerns?
28. Operationalizing socially responsible investment
a non-financial fiduciary duty problem
29. The preferences of beneficiaries
what can we learn from research on retail investors?
Part VI. Fiduciary Duty and Governance
30. Investors and global governance frameworks
broadening the multi-stakeholder paradigm
31. Investment fiduciaries, the role of the public corporation, and greater commitments to sustainability
signals from the corporate board
32. Reporting and standards
tools for stewardship
33. US corporate governance, fiduciary success and stable economic growth
34. Fulfilling fiduciary duties in an imperfect world - governance recommendations from the Stanford Institutional Investor Forum
35. Addressing the participation gap in institutional investment
an assessment framework and preliminary results
36. The costs of fiduciary failure - and an agenda for remedy
Index.

Advance praise: 'When people agree to become members of boards of pension organizations, what duties do they take on? This new book on fiduciary duty makes clear there is no simple answer to this question. It examines the subject not just from a legal perspective, but also from its implications for board behaviour, investment policy, and the consideration of societal issues beyond the immediate confines of the pension plan. … [It is] a valuable new tool for trustees.' Keith Ambachtsheer, Director of the International Centre for Pension Management at the Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Advance praise: 'Eight years after the Freshfields report, this handbook is a much needed in-depth analysis of the fiduciary duty of institutional investors. It is sharp, thoughtful and inspiring, and takes an interdisciplinary approach, ranging from finance, investment and law to philosophy and psychology. It is a must read for institutional investors wishing to understand and fulfil their fiduciary duties in a modern era.' James Gifford, Executive Director of the United Nations backed Principles for Responsible Investment

Advance praise: 'A focus on fiduciary standards in the investment chain is critical to the reform of the financial services sector to meet more effectively the needs of the non- financial economy. This book places the issue where it needs to be - on the centre of the stage.' John Kay, Professor at the London School of Economics, Journalist, and author of The Kay Review of UK Equity Markets and Long-Term Decision Making

Advance praise: 'This book is a thrice-blessed treasure: it meets society's needs to understand how the eclipse of fiduciary precepts has impoverished our commercial life; it meets the needs of governance professionals in providing a single repository of scholarly analysis of the various aspects of fiduciary duty; and it meets the needs of everyday citizens in describing a world in which their expectations can reasonably be met. It is the right book at the right time by the right people. Congratulations to the Cambridge University Press and the Editors for timely bringing to the public such an essential contribution to public discourse - this book is instantly the must have for all who are interested in corporate governance or who invest money on behalf of others. The authors of the 36 component articles are such a luminous lot that one should not single out individual contributions. In brief, this is an instant classic - no finance or governance library should be without it.' Robert A. G. Monks, Author, Entrepreneur, Governance Expert and former US Pension and Welfare Benefits Regulator

Advance praise: 'Fiduciary principles are under enormous pressure to narrow their reach; at the same moment in history forces shifting the ownership of assets from individuals to institutions argue for greater fiduciary scrutiny of investment decisions. By any measure, the importance of fiduciary principles has never been greater [than now]. The essays set forth in the Handbook are timely and deserving of becoming the intellectual North Star as the discussion of this centuries old doctrine proceeds.' Knut A. Rostad, Founder and President, Institute for the Fiduciary Standard

Advance praise: 'This groundbreaking Handbook is an insightful look into the real-world challenges of an investment industry navigating the ever-changing waters of the global economy. It shines a light on the risks that fiduciaries may face if they don't understand how the world is changing around them. The Handbook is a must read for any investment fiduciary interested in a comprehensive interdisciplinary perspective.' Anne Stausboll, Chief Executive Officer of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS)