About Time!
Shareholders' group backs ASX reformBy Bo SeoUpdated 07 Jan 2019 — 5:47 PM,first published at 5:31 PM
The representative body for retail investors, the Australian Shareholders Association (ASA), has supported the proposed changes to Australian Securities Exchange rules, calling the reforms "steps in the right direction".Fiona Balzer, policy and advocacy manager at the ASA, said the introduction of public censure for misbehaving company executives and directors – one of the more controversial changes – was welcome news to investors. "They're playing with other people's money. They should be of good fame," she said.Public censure is only one of a suite of measures proposed by the ASX to crack down on misbehaviour by listed companies. The Australian Financial Review reported on Monday that the ASX also intended to reduce the time companies could be suspended from trading before being delisted, mandate regular reporting and increase disclosure requirements to shareholders.