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Jim Hanks, a partner at Venable LLP who specializes in corporate governance, joined REIT.com for a video interview at REITWise 2016: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference at the Marriott Marquis in Washington, D.C.
One of the most prominent corporate governance issues pertaining to REITs today is the increased influence of major institutional shareholders, according to Hanks.
Glenn Rufrano, CEO of VEREIT, Inc. (NYSE: VER), joined REIT.com for a CEO Spotlight video interview at REITWorld 2015: NAREIT’s Annual Convention for All Things REIT at the Wynn Las Vegas.
Rufrano highlighted the priorities that he has set since he took the helm at VEREIT’s predecessor, American Realty Capital Properties, Inc. (ARCP), in March. In addition to changing the name of the company, it was important to re-establish corporate governance in order to continue to gain credibility as a company, Rufrano explained.
Jim Hanks, a senior partner at Venable LLP, joined REIT.com for a video interview during REITWise 2015: NAREIT’s Law, Accounting and Finance Conference held in Phoenix.
Hanks discussed the growing importance of succession planning.
“I see it as a major item on a continuing basis, as it should be,” he said.
Hanks highlighted a number of aspects to succession planning, including a focus on short-term and long-term planning. “Boards should be doing both,” he said.
Most U.S. Equity REITs have strong corporate governance attributes that benefit bondholders, and they should ease their concerns about the impact of investor activism, according to a report from ratings agency Fitch Ratings, Inc.
Based on its review of 64 U.S. Equity REITs, Fitch concluded that “corporate governance is pretty strong for bondholders in the REIT space,” said Sean Pattap, a senior director at Fitch. “The positives outweigh the negatives,” he added.
