Resources
We conduct original research on the causes of short-term business decisions and work to find practical solutions.
In the News
5 October 2016 - An argument is raging on Wall Street. Some institutional investors are hoping to win it. Over the past year, questions have increasingly been raised over whether corporations are losing sight of the future by obsessing over short-term financial performance. Vice President Joe Biden is even getting involved: In a September 27 op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, he called this short-term mindset “one of the greatest threats to America’s enduring prosperity.”
In the News
29 September 2016 - The influential CEO of BlackRock, the asset manager that oversees almost $5 trillion in investments, Fink is known in financial circles for his hectoring letters of instruction to the companies he invests in. His name has also been floated as a possible Treasury secretary in a Clinton administration. In his most recent letter, Fink tackled the problem of short-term thinking in management, and urged companies to take a longer view to enhance value.
In the News
29 September 2016 - Launched as an initiative in 2013, Focusing Capital on the Long Term yesterday (28 September) announced that it has established itself as an independent entity, renamed as FCLT Global. The not-for-profit organisation is dedicated to “developing practical tools and approaches that encourage long-term behaviours in business and investment decision-making”.
In the News
29 September 2016 -
In the News
29 September 2016 - What began as a research project backed by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and McKinsey & Co. to measure behaviours of investors and businesses in 2013, is now a not-for-profit operation with international members that is focused on research and advocacy. FCLT Global, which takes its name from the “Focusing Capital on the Long Term” research project, wants to extend the thinking among business leaders and investors decades into the future.
Press Release
28 September 2016 - New York, September 28, 2016 – FCLT Global (formerly “Focusing Capital on the Long Term”) announced today its Board of Directors and global membership, marking its transformation from an initiative to an independent not-for-profit organization dedicated to encouraging long-termism in business and investment decision-making. In conjunction, FCLTGlobal released a whitepaper, with new data from aMcKinsey Quarterly survey panel, highlighting the challenges and costs that senior business executives world-wide are facing with the rise of short-termism. Key findings include: 87% of executives report feeling the most pressure to demonstrate financial results within two...
In the News
28 September 2016 - Let that figure swirl around in your head for a moment. Now think of all the retailers on the web…yes, cute Etsy, too—and imagine 55% of consumers bypassing every one of them and heading straight to Amazon (at least, initially). But this morning’s offering isn’t a tale about ecommerce. This is, rather, a posting about business horizons. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, as my colleague Adam Lashinsky wrote back in March in a spot-on profile for Fortune, is a “preternaturally consistent” preacher of customer focus and...
In the News
28 September 2016 - At an event Wednesday sponsored by FCLT Global, an independent non-profit organization advocating long-term investment practices, Mr. Fink told attendees that money managers can play a dampening role on short-termism. “We have to become more engaged,” Mr. Fink said. “The days where managers are passive in their activity are behind us.”
Report
28 September 2016 - Discussions of corporate short-termism are often a microcosm of the issue itself. On the short view—say, 2009 to the present—things are looking up. CEO tenures, the average holding period for S&P 500 shares, and the average duration of corporate bonds are all up. If one takes a longer view, however, the picture begins to darken. By some measures, U.S. business investment in fixed assets is at an all-time low, while the share of net income S&P 500 companies spend on buybacks is at an all-time...
In the News
21 September 2016 - The long-term investment brigade just got a metric by which to prove its mettle – or a petard from which to hang. Institutions and politicians that have decried the ephemeral thinking that has crept into boardrooms, compensation committees and market-makers will now have their own global stock index. With some fast-growing companies failing to make the cut, it’s a bold experiment. Canada’s Pension Plan Investment Board, which oversees C$273 billion of assets, is leading a group that will allocate $2 billion to the new S&P Long-Term...
Press Release
26 July 2016 - BOSTON, JULY 26, 2016 — Focusing Capital on the Long Term (“FCLT”) announced today that Sarah Keohane Williamson has accepted the role of inaugural Chief Executive Officer. Williamson will lead FCLT’s transformation from an initiative formed in 2013 by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (“CPPIB”), and McKinsey & Company to a not-for-profit global organization dedicated to developing practical tools and approaches that encourage long-term behaviors in business and investment decision-making. The Founders of this new organization are BlackRock, CPPIB, The Dow Chemical Company (“Dow”), McKinsey & Company,...
In the News
13 April 2016 - Yo-yoing stock markets, negative interest rates, talk of currency wars: With so many factors roiling markets, it’s easy for investors to let short-term factors obscure the keys to long-term success. Now a group of six leading institutions, led by the C$282 billion ($217 billion) CPP Investment Board, is fighting back. At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, these institutions unveiled a new stock index that identifies companies with strong balance sheets, good governance and clear long-term strategies, and committed to investing $2 billion in products...