Engaging with institutional investors

Investor perspectives on public companies

Lead Director Network, September 2018

The dramatic shifts in the investment landscape—from individual to institutional shareholders and from actively managed funds to indices—have put pressure on boards to strengthen governance and oversight practices.

On July 19, Lead Director Network (LDN) members met in New York to discuss their firms’ relationship with institutional investors. The meeting included a session with Michelle Edkins, global head of the investment stewardship team at BlackRock, followed by a separate, executive-session discussion about related issues over a working dinner.

This ViewPoints synthesizes those conversations, which focused on BlackRock’s place in the institutional-investor landscape and its approach to creating long-term value through its investment stewardship activities. A companion ViewPoints synthesizes another discussion held at the meeting related to oversight of workplace conduct in the context of the #metoo movement.