"Shareholder activism is not a privilege - it is a right and a responsibility. When we invest in a company, we own part of that company and we are partly responsible for how that company progresses. If we believe there is something going wrong with the company, then we, as shareholders, must become active and vocal"
About this Quote
Mobius takes a dry piece of corporate plumbing and reframes it as civic duty. The move is strategic: “not a privilege” yanks shareholder activism out of the realm of optional do-gooding and drops it into the language of rights. Then he tightens the moral vise with “responsibility,” implying that passive investing isn’t neutral - it’s complicity with whatever the company becomes.
The intent is partly defensive and partly aspirational. Defensive, because “activism” still reads to many executives as meddling or hostile takeover theater; Mobius recasts it as simply exercising ownership. Aspirational, because he’s preaching a more muscular capitalism where markets don’t just price companies but discipline them. That’s a worldview shaped by decades of investing across different governance regimes: when rules are uneven, transparency is patchy, and insiders dominate, outside owners either speak up or get steamrolled.
The subtext is a critique of the modern, frictionless investment era. Index funds, retirement accounts, and app-based trading have turned ownership into something you can forget you have. Mobius insists you can’t outsource the ethical and strategic consequences of capital allocation. “We own part of that company” is doing double work: it flatters shareholders with agency while reminding them they’re entangled in labor practices, emissions, accounting choices, and leadership culture.
He also draws a bright line around intervention: you don’t agitate because it’s trendy; you agitate when “something [is] going wrong.” That phrasing is broad on purpose, leaving room for financial mismanagement and social harm alike, while keeping activism grounded in stewardship rather than ideology.
The intent is partly defensive and partly aspirational. Defensive, because “activism” still reads to many executives as meddling or hostile takeover theater; Mobius recasts it as simply exercising ownership. Aspirational, because he’s preaching a more muscular capitalism where markets don’t just price companies but discipline them. That’s a worldview shaped by decades of investing across different governance regimes: when rules are uneven, transparency is patchy, and insiders dominate, outside owners either speak up or get steamrolled.
The subtext is a critique of the modern, frictionless investment era. Index funds, retirement accounts, and app-based trading have turned ownership into something you can forget you have. Mobius insists you can’t outsource the ethical and strategic consequences of capital allocation. “We own part of that company” is doing double work: it flatters shareholders with agency while reminding them they’re entangled in labor practices, emissions, accounting choices, and leadership culture.
He also draws a bright line around intervention: you don’t agitate because it’s trendy; you agitate when “something [is] going wrong.” That phrasing is broad on purpose, leaving room for financial mismanagement and social harm alike, while keeping activism grounded in stewardship rather than ideology.
Quote Details
| Topic | Investment |
|---|
More Quotes by Mark
Add to List
