Activist investors in Japan ease off on pushing firms to return cash

Many broad institutional investors are pushing for companies to make their board more diverse. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has said it would vote against directors if the board has no women.

SYDNEY: Shareholder activists in Japan are taming calls for their targets to return their cash piles to investors, ceding ground to the view such corporate hoards are assets rather than a drain on returns amid the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic.

The change in stance comes as Japan - the second-biggest market for activists after the United States - enters peak season for company annual general meetings (AGMs), where proposals for measures such as dividend increases and share buybacks would normally be presented.