CEOs, chairmen and fat cats: the institutions are watching you

The increase in concentration of institutional shareholdings and the concomitant potential to increase board accountability dominated corporate governance literature during the 1980s and early-1990s. A new era of accountability was prophesised, but ultimately, failed to occur, and institutional investment gradually faded from the academic spotlight. This paper analyses why a new era of accountability did not occur and argues that institutional activism is once again on the rise.