Position Paper September 2018
The Corporate Governance of Listed Companies, 3rd Edition
A Manual for Investors
The 3rd edition of CFA Institute’s corporate governance manual helps investors incorporate governance factors into investment decision making.
The Corporate Governance of Listed Companies, 3rd Edition
View the report (PDF)Overview
CFA institute has published the third edition of CFA Institute Corporate Governance Manual, updating the 2nd edition that was published in 2009. Much has changed in the corporate governance world in that time. The manual is a resource for investors meant them help to better understand the key concepts in corporate governance so that they can better understand corporate governance risks and opportunities present in their investments.
The first edition of the manual, published in 2005 served as a basic primer in corporate governance (corporate governance 101 if you will). Since that time the integration of corporate governance analysis in the investment process has grown substantially, therefore necessitating a more sophisticated consideration of ESG issues currently consider by investors around the world.
CFA institute assembled a global panel of corporate governance experts from around the world to update the manual and ensure that we included the most germane issues in corporate governance today. The manual focuses broadly on the three main components of corporate governance at publicly traded companies; the board, management and shareowner rights.
About the Author(s)
Matt Orsagh, CFA, CIPM, is a former director of capital markets policy at CFA Institute, where he focused on corporate governance issues. He was named one of the 2008 “Rising Stars of Corporate Governance” by the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management.
Linda Rittenhouse, JD, is a director of capital markets policy at CFA Institute. She focuses primarily on issues related to investment products and investment regulation. Rittenhouse holds a JD degree.
Education
Mr. Allen holds an MA in journalism and mass communications from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a BBA in finance from the University of Texas at Austin.
Designation
Awarded CFA designation, 1987
Professional Experience
Mr. Allen is head of Americas capital markets policy for CFA Institute, where he manages the Capital Markets Policy Group in the Americas. This group develops and promotes capital markets positions, policies, and standards for CFA Institute. Mr. Allen also coordinates and supports related educational and public awareness activities.
Mr. Allen has worked as staff liaison to the CFA Institute Capital Markets Policy Council since its founding in 2005. The Council helps CFA Institute develop global perspectives on market-related issues. From 2002 to 2004 he worked with the former European Advocacy Committee, responding to policy initiatives of the European Commission and regulatory proposals of financial markets regulators in France, Germany, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. He was rapporteur for the Global Corporate Governance Task Force in 2004 and 2005 and helped author The Corporate Governance of Listed Companies: A Manual for Investors. He also worked with these former advocacy committees: Municipal Securities Subcommittee of the United States Advocacy Committee; the Financial Accounting Policy Committee; the Financial Reporting Subcommittee of the Canadian Advocacy Committee; and the Task Force on Disclosures for Asset-Backed Securities.
Mr. Allen was a vice president in the corporate finance department of First Southwest Company, a Texas-based investment banking institution, where he specialized in the analysis and valuation of privately held companies and the analysis of industrial revenue bond offerings. He also has worked as an independent research analyst on projects covering the global payments and settlement businesses and the small business banking efforts of financial institutions in the United States and Europe. He covered the derivatives and asset-backed securities markets as a staff reporter for the American Banker, and managed the editorial aspect of four publications for SNL Financial. As a freelance journalist, his work was published in such magazines as Global Finance, Bank Director, Corporate Board Member, and Banking Strategies.