UK - Company leaders, shareholders and the UK government have been called upon by business think-tank Tomorrow's Company (TC) to put stewardship and responsible investment at the heart of every decision they make in response to the current financial crisis.

At the launch of a report entitled Tomorrow's Owners: Stewardship of Tomorrow's Company, Mark Goyder, founder director at TC suggested the UK's new secretary of state for trade and industry Peter Mandelson, new City minister Paul Myners and new FSA chairman Adair Turner should develop a bias towards stewardship and develop their own stewardship checklist by which to assess new regulatory proposals covering everything from the disclosure of short positions to the remuneration of investors.

One of the key findings of the report was there are different roles for shareholders seeking to profit from companies in which they invest, such as member, scrutineer, financier and steward.

However, the report concluded not all shareholders want to be stewards.

The report also warned against the creation of an investor class warfare in which certain investment categories are made scapegoats for the problems affecting other investors and argued the core responsibility for stewardship should be shared between shareholders and directors.

"It is time to stop demonising particular classes of investor," said Goyder.

"Not every hedge fund or private equity investor has the same motivation. In a balanced system, short-selling does have its place. But at present we do not have the balance right and the casino economy is winning out over the real economy."

He continued: "The ownership landscape has shifted from individuals to institutions, who are now the dominant players," added Goyder. "But sovereign wealth funds will soon join the pension funds as important agents of stewardship, alongside private equity."

Goyder also questioned what responsible investment means in relation to debt, rather than just focusing on equity investment as has so far been the case.

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