This paper examines the influence of proxy advisors (PA) on firm voting outcomes, policies and value. We measure PA influence with shareholders' historical propensity to follow PA recommendations. PA influence increases the impact of PA recommendations on proxy voting outcomes and firm policies....

This paper examines the influence corporate executives sitting on mutual fund boards exert on the investment decisions of the fund. Our results show that funds bias their holdings toward the executive's firm. Furthermore, we find that these funds trade informatively in the executive's firm, in...

This paper examines the influence corporate executives sitting on mutual fund boards exert on the investment decisions of the fund. Our results show that funds bias their holdings toward the executive's firm. Furthermore, we find that these funds trade informatively in the executive's firm, in...

We study corporate hedging during the 2007-2008 financial crisis. We find that hedging programs are fragile. Firms whose lenders suffered losses on their mortgage portfolios were more likely to lose access to over-the-counter derivatives, and this effect was strongest among unrated and below...

The short period of time, from the fourth week of April to the end of May, referred to as the proxy season, has about 333 proposals voted a day relative to 27 proposals voted per day outside the proxy season. The compressed workload results in 17.6% fewer negative recommendations from ISS during...