Author Archives: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation

Cryptocurrency 2018

Blockchain technology and the virtual currency, or cryptocurrency, that uses this technology are revolutionizing the way businesses function and deliver goods and services. Even as cryptocurrency becomes a widely debated topic, gaining the critical attention of regulators and policymakers, individuals and businesses are investing billions of dollars in cryptocurrency annually. To understand how blockchain and […]

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Virtual Currencies

I am pleased that the Committee is holding this hearing to bring greater focus to the important issues that cryptocurrencies, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and related products and activities present for American investors and our markets. I am also pleased to join my counterpart, Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chairman Christopher Giancarlo, for our second […]

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Top Universities for Corporate Directors

With the college football season recently coming to a close, there’s no question who’s Number 1 on the field. When it comes to the top schools for turning out board members at public companies, there are also a couple of clear winners. A recent Equilar study using data from its BoardEdge platform uncovered the results.

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Institutional Investor Engagement: How to Create a “Stewardship Culture”

Institutional investors matter. The share of equity investments held by institutional investors, such as mutual funds, pension funds, insurance companies and hedge funds, has increased significantly in recent years, and many such assets are now managed by specialized asset managers. A broad consensus has now emerged that involving these professional institutional investors can be an […]

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HLS Forum Sets New Records in 2017

The operations of the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance during 2017 set several new records. These records include: Having more than 100,000 unique viewers in a month: Publishing over 800 posts during a year; Having visitors from over 220 countries and territories during the year; and More than 2 million page views. Established […]

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BlackRock’s Call for Companies to Deliver Financial & Social Value

On Tuesday, January 16th, BlackRock Chairman and CEO Laurence Fink released his annual letter to CEOs outlining a bold vision linking the prosperity of companies to their ability to deliver both financial performance as well as positive contributions to society. Entitled “A Sense of Purpose,” the letter highlights BlackRock’s increasingly active approach to shareholder engagement, […]

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Dinner Table Human Capital and Entrepreneurship

We document three new facts about entrepreneurship. First, a majority of male entrepreneurs start a firm in the same or a closely related industry as their fathers’ industry of employment. Second, this tendency is correlated with intelligence: higher-IQ entrepreneurs are less likely to follow their fathers. Third, an entrepreneur that starts a firm in the […]

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Federal Reserve Takes Severe and Unprecedented Action Against Wells Fargo: Implications for Directors of All Public Companies

In a stinging rebuke, the Federal Reserve on February 2nd issued an enforcement action barring Wells Fargo from increasing its total assets and mandating substantial corporate governance and risk management actions. The Federal Reserve noted in its press release that Wells will replace three current board members by April and a fourth board member by […]

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Valuable Board Assessments

Board composition and performance continue to be under scrutiny by various stakeholders. Institutional investors are paying close attention to the individuals representing their interests in the boardroom, and how the board addresses its own succession. Hedge fund activists are also watching and certainly have not been shy about seeking change. And directors themselves are increasingly […]

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Underwriter Competition and Bargaining Power in the Corporate Bond Market

The global bond market is a major source of corporate financing, and has been rapidly growing in recent years, reaching nearly $50 trillion in outstanding value as of 2013. At the same time, the bond underwriting industry has become increasingly more concentrated: In 2013, the ten largest underwriters had a combined market share of about […]

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