LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Shareholder Protection and Corporate Governance Forum, recently held in Amsterdam, has highlighted the globalisation of securities class actions and the rapid development of collective redress legislation across the world.
The Forum provided attendees with a critical and dynamic update on collective, representative and class actions in Europe and beyond. It also emphasised the importance of fiduciary duty, and of driving corporate governance reform where malfeasance or negligence leads to a significant loss in value.
The developing role of Fund Managers, Asset Managers and Custodians has meant that fiduciary duties now include proactive monitoring and the pursuit of potential claims on behalf of clients, where the value of investments has been wrongly damaged. Failure to engage in class actions can leave billions in unreclaimed settlements, compromise fiduciary integrity and portfolio returns, and prejudice clients’ potential entitlement to legal redress.
The recent globalisation of securities class actions legislation may be attributed to the 24th June 2010 Morrison v. National Australia Bank case, which effectively banned F-cubed actions from taking place within the U.S. (where a non-U.S. shareholder suing a non-U.S. company, whose stock was purchased on a non-U.S. exchange, sought to bring a case in a U.S. court).
Since Morrison, plaintiffs have increasingly begun to instigate litigation in more flexible jurisdictions in Europe and overseas. For example, countries as far and wide as Canada and Australia, as well as 13 EU Member States, have all developed legislation that allows them to facilitate class, collective, and representative actions.
The Shareholder Protection and Corporate Governance Forum brought together representatives from multiple areas: Pension Funds, Institutional Investors, Asset Management Firms, and Custodian Banks. The exclusive event, organised by C5, was supported by class action service provider and tax reclamation services specialist, Goal Group, alongside Pomerantz LLP and Dutch Investors’ Association, VEB. Informative talks by representatives from, for example, Dutch pension fund PGGM and law firm BarentsKrans, highlighted various national developments, international trends, and further set out strategic decisions on exercising legal rights on behalf of clients to help secure their rightful returns.
Key findings shared included data by NERA Economic Consulting which revealed that the number of U.S. securities class action filings has been unaffected by the Morrison Ruling, despite an inability to process F-cubed actions and a drop in the number of companies listed in the U.S. This therefore demonstrates the increased popularity of securities class actions both globally and in the U.S.
Despite the steady filing of securities class actions in the U.S., research by Goal Group shows that between 2000 and 2012, investors’ non-participation in U.S. securities class actions resulted in over USD 18bn being unreclaimed. Further research by Goal Group calculates that securities class actions outside of the U.S. are predicted to rise to $8.3 billion per year by 2020.
Stephen Everard, CEO, Goal Group, comments, “The Shareholder Protection and Corporate Governance forum brought together key thought leaders from across the world. As legislation rapidly develops, and fiduciaries are increasingly being held responsible for monitoring and ensuring participation in relevant securities class actions, the shared insight brought to the forum is incredibly valuable to all those who wish to monitor international opportunities and safeguard shareholders.”
ENDS
About Goal Group Limited (Goal)
Established in 1989, Goal is the leading class actions and tax reclamation services specialist. Goal has a truly blue-chip client base including many of the world's largest global custodians, asset managers, private banks, pension funds, hedge funds, high net-worth individuals, investment banks, prime brokers and fund managers spread widely across Europe, the United States and the Far East.
Goal's class actions service is provided via the wholly-owned subsidiary Goal Global Recoveries Limited ("GGRL") and supports individuals and corporate entities who have suffered financial loss from owning shares in a company where there has been mis-management and/or unlawful behaviour. Goal has calculated that between 2000 and 2012, over $18 billion has been 'left on the table' by shareholders who have failed to seek redress for their losses.
In the tax reclamation field, Goal's flagship product GTRS (Global Tax Reclamation System) - available as installed software or as an outsourced service - helps custodians reclaim tax on income from cross-border securities that has been overwithheld by foreign governments based on international Double Taxation treaties. This is delivered to global financial institutions, including 5 of the world's top 10 custodian banks.