Contributor(s): Dr Tom Kirchmaier, Dr Moqi Groen-Xu, Shuhei Ogino, Maximilian Schmidl | In our latest shortVIEW interview LSE Finance students share their opinion about Applied Materials’ AGM 2016 and whether proxy access matters.

Contributor(s): Dr Tom Kirchmaier, Dr Moqi Groen-Xu, Joven Jia Wen Liew, Ruobing Wang | In our latest shortVIEW interview LSE Finance students share their opinion about Smith & Nephew’s AGM 2016 and whether their current remuneration disclosure is sufficient.

Contributor(s): Prof Dirk Jenter, Dr Tom Kirchmaier | What has caused the massive growth in CEO compensation? Prof Dirk Jenter presents historical evidence and explains that market forces are the most likely cause of the rise in CEO compensation.

Contributor(s): Dr Carsten Gerner-Beuerle and Dr Tom Kirchmaier | The authors discuss the British regulation of executive remuneration, which is characterised by the unique feature of two votes, one forward looking on the company’s remuneration report, and one backward looking on the director’s annual remuneration package. Using the pay information disclosed by FTSE 100 companies, research shows that shareholders guide their vote by top line salary and appear to disregard the remaining substantial body of information provided to them. Shareholders differentiate between the two voting dimensions in about 23% of the cases. In contrast to the rationale of the legislation that introduced the two votes, however, differentiating voting behaviour is not driven by characteristics of the executive’s remuneration policy, but mainly by exceptionally positive future performance expectations.

Contributor(s): Sir Geoffrey Owen and Dr Tom Kirchmaier | Geoffrey Owen discusses his new book (joint with Michael M. Hopkins) on how biotechnology emerged as a new way of making medicines in the 1970s, how firms based in the US took the lead in the new techniques, and why the UK and other industrial countries have found it so hard to catch up.

Contributor(s): Dr Josef Schuster, Founder IPOX Schuster LLC; Dr Tom Kirchmaier | IPOs can provide vital capital to firms, and can be of particular importance in Emerging Economies where alternative financing channels might not always provide the capital at the lowest cost. Josef discusses this, and how investors can deal with the inherent shortcoming of IPOs share price being a disappointment to investors.

Contributor(s): Steve Otter QPM, Dr Tom Kirchmaier | Steve Otter discusses with Tom Kirchmaier the parallels between Police Inspection and Governance, and how the Public sector – here in the form of the HMIC – can ensure good performance and conduct by the various police forces.

Contributor(s): Prof Ulf Axelson, Dr Tom Kirchmaier | Are bankers overpaid? Professor Ulf Axelson argues that high pay levels in finance may be necessary to prevent misconduct, even if the lucky few landing these jobs are no more skilled or deserving than others.

Contributor(s): Ralph De Haas | The interview focuses on recent trends in cross-border banking in Europe in the wake of the global financial crisis. De Haas speaks about the role of foreign banks in Emerging Europe; the recent financial fragmentation in Europe; the growing role of cross-border bond issuance; and the importance of relationship lending during the crisis.

Contributor(s): John O’Higgins (CEO of Spectris plc), Dr Tom Kirchmaier | View from John O’Higgins on the issue of the short-termism in financial markets, for which John did not see any evidence in his own experience.