资本主义灵魂今安在？

    投资经理是否把你的根本利益放在心上？除了投资公司Peregrine长达数十年的骗局之外，还有些基金经理的投资方式也并不像你所期望的那样。路透社（Reuters ）周五报道劳工部（the Labor Department）可能正在调查摩根大通（J.P. Morgan）违背信托责任的情况。据称，该行的稳定价值基金（Stable Value Fund）投资于“公司自身承销和评级的私人抵押债券”，而此基金是为401(k)退休计划设计的投资工具，本应是“雇员最保守的投资选择：流动性好并有保险支持”。本月早些时候，《华尔街日报》（Wall Street Journal）报道共同基金和401(k)投资顾问将Facebook纳入价值基金的投资组合，然而“Facebook并不算是价值股票”。作为Facebook上市的主承销商，摩根史坦利投资管理公司（Morgan Stanley Investment Management）运营的基金“在其投资组合中用最高比例投资于Facebook。”

    我最近有幸和先锋集团（the Vanguard Group）的创始人杰克•博格尔交流，他也是指数共同基金的开路先锋。我们谈到了投资管理和公司治理的现状。下面是编辑过的谈话记录。

    我们六年前讨论你的书《资本主义灵魂之战》（The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism）的时候，金融危机还没有发生，Facebook也没有上市。也还没有惠普（HP）、切萨皮克（Chesapeake）能源公司和沃尔玛（Wal-Mart）的丑闻，这都是最近的例子。你是否认为，我们已经输了？

    我认为我们还没有输掉资本主义灵魂之战。但目前我们的资本体系表现糟糕。长期投资被短期投机行为挤出市场，就像由租客而不是车主在把握方向。个人投资者无法为自己的利益大声疾呼。70%的市场由代理（代表他人投资的公司）把持。而代理体制运营不佳。

    我们有可能会输掉资本主义灵魂之战，但只要有足够多的人仍然相信自由市场制度是最佳选择，相信开放市场的可行性，我们就能扭转乾坤。资本主义已被滥用，但资本主义仍将回归。这么好的制度不应该失败。

    董事会需要做出什么改进？

    董事会需要为股东利益服务，成为管理层的监管者，而不是他们的同盟军。管理层大权在握：他们控制着数据，可以按照需要来决定发布还是保留。

    眼前就有两个例子。董事会放任公司的开支，用在不该用的地方。一方面是政治捐款。另一方面是高得离谱的薪酬。某些薪酬顾问虽然号称独立人士，但如果他们不给管理层涨工资就待不下去。

    基金行业也存在同样的问题。我们既不愿意触怒现有客户，也不想得罪潜在客户。

    信托机构需要做出什么改进？

    老实说，基金行业现在正经历着一场革命。指数基金开始占据上风。在到5月底的五年间，有6,000亿美元流入指数基金，而4,000亿美元流出到活跃投资的基金。指数基金占到行业资产的28%。

    指数基金拥有者需要改变行为方式，要去鼓励和推动公司董事考虑股东利益，要让手中的投票发挥作用。

    公司的行为如何影响我们的经济实力？公司对长远利益的关注是否足够？

    我觉得还不够。我们需要回归长期投资。市场充斥着投机分子，他们并不参与代理投票。因为他们只是租客、短期行为者，公司治理对他们毫无意义。

    国会、证券交易委员会（SEC）、最高法院（the Supreme Court）、投资经理和分析师都没有尽到自己的责任。我们必须把市场交还给拥有者。我们需要一个关心公司治理的体系。

    我了解到你写了一本新书，书名是《文化冲突：投资和投机》（The Clash of the Cultures: Investment versus Speculation）。书的内容是什么？

    Do investment money managers have your best interests at heart? Beyond Peregrine's long-running fraud, some money managers may not be investing your money in the way you expect. Reuters reported on Friday that the Labor Department may be looking into a possible breach of fiduciary duty by J.P. Morgan (JPM). The company put "private mortgage debt underwritten and rated by the bank itself" in its Stable Value Fund, a vehicle designed for 401(k) plans that is supposed "to be the most conservative choice for employees -- liquid and backed by insurance," the report stated. And earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported that mutual funds and 401(k) advisors put Facebook (FB) into portfolios advertised as value funds, although "Facebook isn't considered a value stock." Funds run by Morgan Stanley Investment Management, lead underwriter of Facebook's IPO "put the highest percentage of their portfolios in Facebook."

    I recently spoke with Jack Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group and the first index mutual fund, about the state of money management and corporate governance today. Here's an edited transcript of our conversation.

    When we talked six years ago about your book, The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism, there was no financial crisis, no Facebook IPO. We hadn't seen the scandals at HP, Chesapeake, and Wal-Mart, to name some recent examples. Would you say that battle has been lost?

    I don't think we've lost the battle for the soul of capitalism. But right now, our capital system is functioning badly. Long-term investment is being crowded out by short-term speculation. Instead of owners, we have renters of capitalism in the driver's seat. And individual investors don't speak up for themselves. Seventy percent of the market is owned by agents [those who invest other people's money]. And the agency system is not working well.

    The battle for the soul of capitalism could be lost, but as long as there are enough of us left that believe the free market system is best, that open markets can work, we can turn this around. Capitalism has been abused. But capitalism is going to come back. It's too good not to.

    What do boards need to be doing that they still aren't?

    Boards need to be overseers of management and act in the interest of shareholders rather than as partners of management. Management has all the weapons. They have the data. They can give out what they want to and not share the data they don't want to.

    Two examples now. Today, boards are allowing companies to spend dollars in ways they shouldn't. One is on political contributions. The other is the absurdly outrageous salaries we see today. Some compensation consultants may be called independent but you aren't going to be a success if you don't give management a raise.

    In the fund system, we have the same problem. We don't want to offend actual clients and we don't want to offend potential clients.

    What do fiduciaries [these agents who invest others' money] need to do that they aren't?

    Honestly, we are having a revolution going on in the fund industry. Index funds are dominating. In the five years through May, there has been a $600 billion inflow into index funds and $400 billion lost to funds that are actively invested. Index funds make up 28% of industry assets.We must have index owners act in a way they aren't right now, to encourage and push corporate directors to consider shareholder interests, and to use their votes to do that.

    How do you see corporate actions affecting our economic strength? Are companies focused enough on the long-term?

    No, I don't think they are. We need to turn back to long-term investing. The market is made up of speculators that don't vote proxies. Governance means nothing if you are a renter, a short-termer.

    Congress, the SEC, the Supreme Court, money managers, and analysts have all let us down. We have to put the markets back in the hands of owners. We have to have a system that cares about governance.

    I understand you have written a new book called The Clash of the Cultures: Investment versus Speculation. What's it about?