Daily Archives: Thursday, March 16, 2017

Delaware Blockchain Initiative: Transforming the Foundational Infrastructure of Corporate Finance

Posted by Andrea Tinianow, Delaware Blockchain Initiative and Caitlin Long, Symbiont, on
Thursday, March 16, 2017
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Andrea Tinianow is Director of Delaware Blockchain Initiative and Caitlin Long is Chairman & President of Symbiont. This post is part of the Delaware law series; links to other posts in the series are available here. Additional posts related to the blockchain initiative are available here.

The foundation for much of American corporate finance is Delaware corporate law. Later this year, a small change to Delaware corporate law, if enacted, could facilitate a major simplification of the plumbing of the financial system built on top of that foundation. The change is part of the Delaware Blockchain Initiative (DBI), which then-Governor Jack Markell introduced in May 2016. The initiative will allow for the application of distributed ledger technology to many of the private sector’s most basic and critical legal documents, which companies currently file with the Delaware Division of Corporations.

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The First Block in the Chain: Proposed Amendments to the DGCL Pave the Way for Distributed Ledgers and Beyond

Posted by Matthew J. O’Toole and Michael K. Reilly, Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP, on
Thursday, March 16, 2017
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Matthew J. O’Toole and Michael K. Reilly are partners at Potter Anderson & Corroon LLP. This post is based on a Potter Anderson publication by Mr. O’Toole, Mr. Reilly, and David B. DiDonato. The views expressed herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the firm or its clients. This post is part of the Delaware law series; links to other posts in the series are available here. Additional posts related to the blockchain initiative are available here.

On May 2, 2016, Delaware’s Governor announced the official public launch of the “Delaware Blockchain Initiative.” [1] The primary goal of the initiative is to encourage the adoption of blockchain technology in the private and public sectors for the benefit of both private enterprises and the public. [2] As part of the initiative, the Governor requested that the Council of the Corporation Law Section of the Delaware State Bar Association (which we refer to herein as the Council) begin to explore whether any changes or clarifications should be made to the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware (commonly referred to as the DGCL) to enable Delaware corporations to utilize blockchain technology for the registration and transfer of record ownership of shares of stock. [3]

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Diversity Investing

Posted by Alberto Manconi, Bocconi University, on
Thursday, March 16, 2017
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Alberto Manconi is Assistant Professor of Finance at Bocconi University. This post is based on a recent paper authored by Mr. Manconi; Oliver G. Spalt, Professor of Behavior Finance at Tilburg University; and Antonino Emanuele Rizzo, Tilburg University.

In March 2015, a group of public investment funds, collectively managing assets in excess of one trillion dollars, submitted a petition to the SEC which asks for enhanced diversity disclosure for board nominees, arguing that better disclosure on “skills, experiences, gender, race, and ethnic diversity can help us as investors determine whether the board has the appropriate mix to manage risk and avoid groupthink.” [1] Echoing this argument, a large management literature supports the importance of management team “diversity,” defined as variation among the top managers in functional backgrounds, industry and firm tenure, education, and other characteristics that define an executive’s “cognitive frame.” In contrast to an extensive body of work on diversity in other fields, there is comparatively little work on top management team diversity in the finance literature.

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