Foreword by Paul Polman ix Preface xiii Part I The Investment Galaxy 1 Chapter 1 What Planet Am I On? 3 Chapter 2 Building Great Companies with Short-term Investors Is a Challenging Mission 7 Why Long-Term Capital Matters 9 The Cost of Short-Term Investors 12 Critical Choices for CEOs 15 Chapter 3 HOW INVESTMENT MARKETS WORK IN THE 21st CENTURY 17 How Markets Work Today 19 Portfolios Matter More Than Companies 21 Misalignments Between Companies and Their Shareholders 22 The Investment Galaxy: Big, Bewildering, and Full of Opportunity 25 Chapter 4 The Solar Systems of the Investment Galaxy 27 Asset Owners Own Your Company 29 Asset Managers Buy, Sell, and Sometimes Vote Your Shares 29 Control Investors Do More Than Invest 30 Financial Intermediaries and Commentators Have Influence, If Not Power 30 Standard Setters Make the Rules 31 The CEO's Journey 31 Part II The Planets and Inhabitants of the Investment Galaxy 33 Chapter 5 Getting to Know the Asset Owners 35 Global Institutional Asset Owners: Quiet Giants 37 Local Institutional Asset Owners: Hometown Heroes 43 Endowments and Foundations: Iron Hand in a Velvet Glove 48 Families: The Keys to the Kingdom 53 The Traditional Retail Investor: Mom and Pop 58 Retail Meme Traders: The Reddit Crowd 63 State Shareholders: Keeper of the Crown Jewels 66 Chapter 6 Asset Managers Are the Buy-side 71 Active Managers: The Traditional Portfolio Manager 73 Index Funds: Supertankers of the Investment Galaxy 80 Pod Hedge Funds: Chess Players in Fleece Vests 86 Boutique Managers: Investment Seers 90 Short Sellers: The Skunks at the Picnic 94 Chapter 7 Control Investors Don't Just Invest 99 Activists: The Investor with a Megaphone 101 Private Equity: The Alpha Dogs of Today's Investment Galaxy 108 Venture Capital: Angels Who Can Determine Your Destiny 115 Private Credit: Not Your Old-Fashioned Banker 121 Strategics: Big Fish Eat Small Fish 126 Chapter 8 Intermediaries and Commentators Are Influencers 131 Sell-Side Analysts: Weather Forecasters 133 Investment Advisory Bankers: Millionaire Matchmakers 140 Proxy Advisors: Referees with No VAR 145 The Financial Press: Market-Savvy Reporters 151 Index Providers: The Market Sorting Hat 155 Chapter 9 Standard Setters Make the Rules 163 Regulators: A Cat and Mouse Game 165 Exchanges: Today's Buttonwood Tree 170 Lawyers: Signs of Caution 176 Part III Voyages Through the Investment Galaxy 181 Chapter 10 Journeys of CEOs and Companies 183 Public Companies Taking Off into Clear Skies 185 Companies That Need to Change Direction 189 Going Public to Fuel up for the Long Journey Ahead 194 Landing on the Private Equity Planet 200 Accessing Foreign Capital Markets 205 Chapter 11 Your Destination Back on Earth 209 Afterword: the Mission of The Investment Community 213 Glossary: What Language Are These Aliens Speaking? 217 Notes 229 Acknowledgments 251 About the Author 253 Index 257.