A leading governance expert has called for improved relationships between boards and investors.

Jen Sisson, chief executive of the International Corporate Governance Network, was speaking on Board Agenda’s Governance Watch podcast about recent concerns that conversations between boardroom members and investors have become increasingly fraught.

Sisson said most companies have good relationships with investors, but a view has developed that boards have become defensive while investors have become “overly demanding”.

“The investors should not come into a discussion with a banging-the-fist-on-the-table demand and neither should the company come in seeking to defend what they’re already doing,” says Sisson.

She added that both directors and investors should remember they are “all on the same team”.

“I think getting to that mutual understanding would be very helpful,” she said.

Sisson also reflected on what she describes as the “pushback” on shareholder rights around the world.

Shareholders’ rights

Last year, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) softened rules on dual-class shares in the UK and ended the need for shareholder votes on significant transactions.

“From an ICGN perspective, we would say, ‘well, do you know what? Good governance is material.’

“We need to think about these things as going hand in hand and being positive.

“So, where we do see attacks on shareholders’ rights, and where we see efforts to obfuscate stewardship activity, we just really worry about the long-term negative consequence that we see both for our members as shareholders and their clients and beneficiaries, but also for companies.”

Listen to the full podcast here.