Dean Paatsch spoke at the ASIC Summer School in February 2012 on corporate governance from the perspective of institutional shareholders. Their expectations of directors, the governance practices of listed companies, and the increased monitoring of corporate behaviour by individuals and private businesses.

Download the speech here: ASIC summer school speech Feb 2012

It begins as follows:

“My colleagues and I at Ownership Matters believe that the interests of all owners are served by fair, open and transparent markets – where all types of risks are well understood and can be priced accordingly.

ASIC’s role in keeping the rules fair for all investors is crucial and the opportunity to contribute to a debate about the policy settings to promote good governance of our listed companies at this Summer School is very much appreciated.

I’d like to cover 3 areas of governance interest, director election, capital raisings and takeovers, where the role of institutions is paramount, but not always straight forward and pose policy dilemmas for regulators.

Whether we like it or not, institutions are responsible for monitoring the performance and effectiveness of the boards entrusted to govern Australia’s listed entities. This is simply a product of the weight of capital institutions control, due in no small part to their central role in Australia’s $1.3 trillion compulsory superannuation system.”