Nearly 40% of buy-side portfolio managers and research professionals...

Nearly 40% of buy-side portfolio managers and research professionals surveyed believe "public pension funds are attempting to wield too much power in corporate governance," according to Broadgate Consultants. Nearly half of the institutional investor respondents doubt the Sarbanes-Oxley Act "has been effective in promoting better corporate governance and protecting investors," the survey noted. "Similarly ... 52% (of respondents) said that the push for corporate governance may have gone too far and now risks undermining the credibility of its supporters," the recent survey of 120 buy-side portfolio managers and research professionals found. Nearly 80% of respondents see the SEC's proposal to give shareholders more power to nominate corporate board directors as "a good step toward better governance." Also, 75% believe board structures of mutual funds are in need of reform.