We are tackling one of the most debated issues in business, what is the primary responsibility of corporations? Is it to maximize shareholder value as it is now, or also serve the interests of other stakeholders including customers, suppliers, employees and the community?
RECENT PROGRAMS
GREENBLATT: STRATEGY CHANGE
It isn’t often that a very successful hedge fund manager with a winning strategy closes up shop, but that is exactly what this week’s Great Investor guest did in 1995. It’s equally unusual to get back in the business more than a decade later with a dramatically altered strategy. Joel Greenblatt of the Gotham Funds will explain his big change in portfolio strategy, from a very concentrated approach to broad diversification.
KLEINSCHMIDT: CONTRARIAN VALUE
Tocqueville Fund’s Robert Kleinschmidt prides himself on being an independent thinker. In his exclusive interview with WEALTHTRACK he does not disappoint. While the rest of Wall Street has been expecting the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates he says they won’t, and while most investors run from troubled stocks he finds gems among them. His deep value approach has generally worked. Under his stewardship, the 4-star rated Tocqueville Fund has delivered market and category beating returns.
SYLLA & STEIGER: CORPORATE MORALITY
How would you rate the overall state of moral values in this country today? That’s the question the Gallup organization asks Americans every year. This year’s answers were not atypical. Only 2% of Americans surveyed rated our moral values as excellent – 42% said they were poor – and 74% felt that values were getting worse, not better. How does this translate to the business world? We’ll discuss the state of corporate morality. Financial historian Richard Sylla and award-winning financial editor Paul Steiger discuss how companies have become fixated on short-term stock prices to the exclusion of broader, long-term goals.
GREGG FISHER: FOREIGN OPPORTUNITIES
The U.S. stock market has been one of the strongest performers in the world since the financial crisis, but some question if its days of market leadership are numbered. This week’s guest is starting to look in battered down international markets. Gregg Fisher, a top rated financial advisor explains the diversification benefits of small company foreign stocks and international real estate.
de LARDEMELLE: SCARCE VALUE
For most investors, both amateur and professional, the primary goal of investing is to make money. However a handful of our guests have another top priority – capital preservation. IVA Worldwide Fund’s co-portfolio manager Charles de Lardemelle is one of them. On this week’s WEALTHTRACK he explains why he is now holding more cash and fewer stocks in his value seeking portfolios.
