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Global Shareowner Rights Guidebook Now Available from CFA Institute Centre
Manual helps investors understand their rights in international markets
New York, April 16, 2009 − The CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity, the global policy authority on professional conduct and investment performance standards, financial reporting, and capital markets, today launched Shareowner Rights across the Markets: A Manual for Investors to assist investors in understanding their rights in 22 of the largest markets in the world and to reinforce the correlation between strong shareowner rights and lower costs of equity capital.
“Especially in the current financial market turmoil, many investors seek
diversification of risk and return opportunities by investing outside of
their home markets,” said Kurt Schacht, CFA, managing director of the CFA
Institute Centre. “Anyone who invests internationally will find this
manual useful because, with each country, we looked at a standard set of
investor concerns such as the election and independence of board members,
proxy voting procedures, share ownership limitations, lawsuits, and
compensation.”
The Shareowner Rights Manual is a companion to The Corporate
Governance of Listed Companies: A Manual for Investors, and is
designed to help investment professionals and investors around the world
better understand their rights as shareowners in the major developed and
developing markets around the world. “This manual will allow investors,
regulators, and other interested parties to benchmark shareowner rights
in markets of interest,” added Schacht.
The Shareowner Rights Manual is structured to give readers easy
access to information about their basic rights as shareowners, as well as
customary practices in markets in which they invest. The manual:
- Reviews the rights shareowners enjoy in 10 developed markets and 12 developing markets;
- Provides a table listing basic shareowner rights in each market;
- Reviews current investor engagement practices and recent events;
- Addresses the legal and regulatory environments in each market; and
- Provides a list of online resources dealing with shareowner rights in each market.
“The Shareowner Rights Manual will help investors understand the risks or opportunities in any of these markets with regard to their rights within the legal, regulatory, and governance standards in that market. Without that knowledge, an investor is investing with incomplete information,” said Matt Orsagh, CFA, CIPM, project manager for the Shareowner Rights Manual and senior policy analyst at the CFA Institute Centre.
CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity
The CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity develops timely, practical solutions to global capital market issues, while advancing investors’ interests by promoting the highest standards of ethics and professionalism within the investment community worldwide. It builds upon the CFA Institute 40-year history of standards and advocacy work, especially its Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct for the investment profession, which were first established in the 1960s.