Loyalty Shares That Reward Long-term Investors With Extra Votes

Michael Sabia, chief executive of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, said he has an “open mind” when it comes to rewarding long-term investors with extra votes for their shares. “I think it’s an idea that warrants consideration,” Sabia said at the annual meeting of the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance on Tuesday. While the head of Quebec’s pension giant stopped short of actually endorsing the controversial granting of “loyalty” shares, a method to encourage long term investors that has been tried in countries including France and Italy, he said something should be done to counter the “short-termism” that causes investors to churn stock in public companies in response to quarterly returns rather than long-term prospects.