All of these developments pose tremendous challenges that stand to broadly redefine U.S. markets for decades to come. But, we can talk about the structure of capital markets, we can talk about order flow, we can talk about execution costs, and we can talk about liquidity all we want. It s nothing more than an academic exercise if investors don t trust the quality of the underlying financial information. Today, that s not the case. At least, I hope it s not.
Corporate governance is no longer an academic discussion.
It is not an arcane topic for high-minded legal debate. Nor is it a dusty, little-used flowchart in a vacant boardroom. On the eve of a new century, new global imperatives demand a revitalized and modern perspective on the fundamental responsibilities between companies and their investors. Information is the lifeblood of markets. But unless investors trust this information, investor confidence dies.