George A. Leet Business Law Symposium

Add to Calendar: Add to Calendar: 2020-11-06 08:45:00 2020-11-06 16:45:00 George A. Leet Business Law Symposium Event Description Join us for the George A. Leet Business Law Symposium, "Equity Holdings in the Three Index Funds: Anti-Competitive Effects, Fiduciary Duties and Environmental, Social and Governance Issues," sponsored by the CWRU School of Law’s Center for Business Law.  The symposium will focus on equity holdings in large index funds and the rise of the "big three" — Blackrock, Vanguard and State Street — which control 25 percent of the vote in the S&P 500 now. This is projected to grow to 34 percent in 10 years and 40 percent in 20 years. The concentration of equity holdings in large index funds is a trending topic in corporate and finance academia—one that appears to be getting on the radar of regulators and legal practitioners.   The rise of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investing and fiduciary responsibility is also a significant development, with asset managers have an increasing inclination to value whether a public company is "doing good," in addition to “doing well." The traditional paradigm of separating ownership from control may be in for profound changes.   Panelists will address several topics, including fiduciary obligations of index fund managers; implications for corporate governance and stockholder activism; potential anti-competitive effects; and the rise of Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) investing.   The symposium’s keynote address, “For Whom is the Corporation Managed in 2020? The Debate Over Corporate Purpose,” will be provided by Professor Ed Rock. CLE Reading Materials   Agenda 8:45 am - 9:00 am Welcome & Introduction   Michael P. Scharf, Co-Dean, Case Western Reserve University School of Law 9:00 am - 10:30 am Fiduciary Obligations of Index Fund Managers   Jill Fisch, Professor, University of Pennsylvania Ann Lipton, Professor, Tulane Law School Darren Rosenblum, Professor, Pace University Bernard Sharfman, Senior Corporate Governance Fellow, RealClearFoundation Moderator: Anat Beck, Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law 10:30 am - 10:45 am Break 10:45 am - 12:15 pm Implications for Corporate Governance and Stockholder Activism   Cindy Alexander, Senior Financial Economist in the Office of Asset Management, Division of Economic and Risk Analysis, of the Securities and Exchange Commission Suzanne Hanselmann, Partner, Baker Hostetler Jennifer C. Lewis, Counsel, Jones Day David Webber, Professor, Boston University School of Law Moderator: Charles Korsmo, Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law 12:15 pm - 12:30 pm Break/Lunch 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Keynote Address: Corporate Objective and Common Ownership   Edward Rock, Professor, New York University School of Law 1:30 pm - 1:45 pm Break 1:45 pm – 3:00 pm Potential Anti-Competitive Effects and Effects on Market Dynamics & Efficiency   Joshua Mitts, Professor, Columbia Law School Florian Ederer, Professor, Yale School of Management Mireia Gine, Professor, Financial Management Department of IESE (Barcelona, Spain) Moderator: Robert Rapp, Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law 3:00 pm – 3:15 pm Break 3:15 pm – 4:30 pm The Rise of Environmental, Social, Governance Investing   Michal Agmon-Gonnen, Judge, District Court of Tel Aviv - Commercial Department I Eric Chaffee, Professor, University of Toledo College of Law Madison Condon, Professor, Boston University School of Law Moderator: Juliet P. Kostritsky, Professor, Case Western Reserve University School of Law 4:30 pm – 4:45 pm Closing Remarks     School of Law School of Law America/New_York public