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An op-ed in today's Wall Street Journal wonders (subscription required) whether Eliot Spitzer's high-profile demands for change at AIG (NYSE: AIG) and Marsh & McLennan (NYSE: MMC) did more harm than good: "In both cases, Mr. Spitzer issued ultimatums to the company boards that they had to replace their CEOs, or else he'd indict the company," the paper says. "Both companies have struggled ever since."
Before we get on Spitzer too hard, it's worth noting that almost all companies see their stock prices go down following the announcement of investigations and charges. News items like this generally reflect serious problems at the company -- and mark the first time investors become aware of certain issues that the company hadn't previously disclosed. If regulators worried about driving down share prices by launching investigations, they wouldn't be able to launch any investigations! Ultimately, investors are protected by zealous enforcement of the law.
However the notion of an Attorney General essentially installing at executives at public companies is frightening one and hopefully the failure of Mr. Cherkasky -- his resignation as CEO prompted a 5% run-up in the stock -- will put an end to experiments like this one for a long time to come.
Ideally institutional shareholders would lobby for strong upper management replacements in the face of scandal.
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