Management, Governance and Regulation in the
Changing Investor Landscape
Conference organised by
Cass Business School, City University London and Journal of
Management and Governance
September 20, 2011, Henry Wellcome Auditorium, Wellcome Collection Conference
Centre, 183 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BE
Organizers: Igor Filatotchev, Cass Business School, Rosario Faraci, University of Catania;
and Mike Wright, Imperial College Business School
Introduction
In recent years, there has been a rapid growth in a large range of investment managers that
represent alternatives to traditional equity holding in listed corporations by individuals and
institutions such as pension funds and insurance. These alternative investors include private
equity, hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, infrastructure funds, etc. These trends have
important implications for the management and governance of firms that have to date
received varied attention. In particular, the changing investor landscape raises critical
research questions regarding the structures and processes of shareholder engagement with
portfolio companies. However, the extent to which alternative investors represent new forms
of engagement and governance that cover all stages of firms’ life-cycle is as yet unclear. The
returns from some forms of alternative investors, notably private equity firms, have attracted
other forms of entrants to the market such as hedge funds which may have different skills,
different objectives and different investment time horizons. Similarly, the entry of sovereign
wealth funds raises further issues and concerns about their strategic objectives and the
implications for their portfolio companies.
The increase in the range and diversity of these investment institutions also raises direct
questions about the extent to which the regulatory authorities are capable of dealing with the
challenges that these new investment vehicles pose in terms of their involvement in
corporate governance. Developments in the presence and roles of alternative investors have
generated considerable policy debate and have led to actions to change the regulatory
framework covering these organizations. The evidence base for these developments is
partial at best and the appropriately differentiated regulatory approaches continue to attract
attention.
This Conference and associated special issue of Journal of Management and Governance
aims to address these gaps in the evidence concerning the structures and processes
through which governance and management are effected in firms with these new types of
investors, and how these alternative investment firms are regulated. We welcome
presentations from variety of academic and practitioner perspectives. This Conference will
bring together academics, practitioners and regulators who are involved in research and
policy development related to the changes in investor landscape in the UK and abroad.
Apart from members of research community, our target audience include fund managers and
their advisors, corporate governance practitioners and the Government.
Conference Program
09:00 - 09:30
Registration
09:30 - 09:45
Welcome Address by Richard Gillingwater, the Dean, Cass Business School
09:45 - 10:15
Stephen Haddrill, Chief Executive Officer, Financial Reporting Council, Keynote
Address
10:15 - 10:45
Prof. Igor Filatotchev (Cass Business School), Jonathan Jona (Cass Business
School) and Richard Jenkinson (Junction RDS); Preview of Cass research project:
“Shareholder patterns of FTSE 100 companies”; moderated by Peter Montagnon,
Senior Investment Advisor, FRC
10:45 - 11:15
Coffee Break
11:15 - 13:00
Practitioner Perspective Panel followed by Q&A, including:
Michelle Edkins, Head of Corporate Governance Europe, BlackRock
Colin Ellis, Chief Economist, British Venture Capital Association
Gavin Grant, Ownership Strategies, Norges Bank Investment Management
Ida Levine, Director, Capital International
Dr Daniel Summerfield, Head of Responsible Investment, USS Pension
Fund
13:00 - 14:00
Lunch
14:00 - 14:15
Welcome by Prof. Roberto Di Pietra, the Editor, Journal of Management and
Governance and Prof. Igor Filatotchev, Cass Business School
14:15 - 14:45
Prof. Mike Wright, CMBOR, University of Nottingham
“Public to Private Transactions, Private Equity and Financial Health in the UK: An
Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Going Private”
14:45 - 15:15
Dr Maureen Muller-Kahle, The Pennsylvania State University, USA
“The impact of type of ownership in firms in Anglo-American governance
environments”
15:15 - 15:45
Coffee Break
15:45 - 16:15
Dr Ettore Croci, Università degli Studi di Milano – Bicocca, Milano, Italy and
Giovanni Petrella, Associate Professor of Banking, Università Cattolica del Sacro
Cuore, Milan, Italy
“Price changes around hedge fund trades: Disentangling trading and disclosure
effects”
16:15 - 16:45
Professor Miles Gietzmann and Anna Faelten, Cass Business School
“Can the Composition of Institutional Investors on a Corporate Share Register Affect
the Chance of Management Making Successful International M&A Deals?”
16:45 - 17:15
Prof. Rosario Faracci and Arturo Capasso, University of Catania, Italy
"Dealbreaking in private equity between worthiness and willingness"
17 :15 - 19:00 Reception