Would it be possible to establish a limited partnership which has the sole mandate to restructure the boards of public corporations simply for public welfare? Or is this idea just wishful thinking.
Most “activist” investors and funds are simply trying to change corporate boards for self-interest, their goal being to induce a new executive team to increase profitability, free cash flow, product diversity, etc… Most likely the purpose of these activists is to make changes which will result in a large long term gain with a nice 15% tax rate. But, what I am suggesting has no goal other than to raise enough funds to accumulate an ownership stake which will allow a board take-over of a large corporation.
One of the interesting aspects of this fund would be that it’s goal would not be in any way to earn investors a profit. Thus, all contributions to join the partnership would be subject to complete loss. Any gains or losses would be given back or incurred to the donors after the mandate has been achieved. Once the mandate is complete, the partnership would be dissolved. This could take 1 year or 10 years depending on the situation in the corporation.
Starting anew would ensure that any managers would not be corrupted. Fees would be minimal. No one managing this fund would make any more than a living wage. However, there will be legal and other such fees which are unavoidable.
For instance, if 10 million people invested $3,000 in this partnership, the total of $30 billion would be sufficient to slowly accumulate a controlling interest in the corporation. Once the controlling interest is achieved, the board of directors would be replace by the desired men and women. This new board would then replace the executive team to create a new culture for the corporation to ensure the mandate is achieved.
Anyway, let me know what you think… constantly trying to think of ways to improve/fix our existing system.