For the past two decades, Monks championed tougher corporate governance, pushing companies to make their executives more accountable to investors and turn directors into independent watchdogs for shareholder interests. Companies, he said, must also be judged by their impact on the environment, their links with the community and how often they impose on government or legal bodies to achieve goals.
Capitalism is a very good thing.
We've got to think about environmental costs, about other social costs. We have a marketplace that doesn't reflect the full cost of things. Corporate governance has grown more popular as investors became frustrated watching CEOs spurn takeover offers, pursue overpriced acquisitions or grant themselves outrageous pay packages. That's hardly news to Monks. Since 1992 Lens Investment Management has generated market-beating returns by buying shares of companies with solid businesses and sloppy governance.