Academics and regulators have given significant attention to the impact of institutional investors on the companies in which they invest. Some are concerned that the institutional investors act as common owners. But in their active ownership policies institutional investors often say they are...

Currently, there is much debate about the role that non-investor stakeholder interests play in the governance of public companies. Critics argue that greater attention should be paid to the interest of stakeholders and that by investing in initiatives and programs to promote their interests,...

Shareholder activism on sustainability issues has become increasingly prevalent over the years, with the number of proposals filed doubling from 1999 to 2013. We use recent innovations in accounting standard setting to classify 2,665 shareholder proposals that address environmental and social...

We examine whether engagement on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues can benefit shareholders by reducing firms' downside risk, measured using the lower partial moment and value at risk. Using a proprietary database, we provide evidence supporting this hypothesis. We further find...