U.S. corporations are growing more concerned that federal lawmakers and regulators have hijacked the traditional corporate disclosure process to fulfill a social agenda. Investors, meanwhile, are being smothered with volumes of data, much of it virtually useless for making investment decisions. How did we get here?
In no way am I arguing that companies should be excused from fulfilling their obligation to provide truthful, complete information—in plain English—so shareholders can make sound investment decisions. Instead, I simply raise the question: What kind of information is relevant to investors, and what isn’t?
