IR Monitor – 06 May 2026

According to Reuters, amidst a 46% YOY year on year surge in the rate of shareholder proposals being submitted to Japanese companies last year, lawmakers are moving to increase the thresholds for taking such actions. Activist investors see Japanese companies as ripe for intervention, with management teams tending to be less focused on share buybacks and boosting dividends than in other developed countries. Additionally, hurdles to submitting a proposal are low, with current laws requiring shareholders to have held for six months no more than 1% of voting rights or 300 voting units. Contrast this to the UK’s threshold of 5% and it is clear why business lobbies are calling for raised thresholds. Interestingly, new Japan PM Sanae Takaichi has said focus on shareholders is ‘slightly excessive’, raising the possibility that the government may be out of lockstep with business groups and lawmakers.

In a move that would align the UK with European markets, the FCA is looking at cutting the seven-day delay between a listing being announced and the start of marketing by banks. This would allow companies to deliver an ‘intention to float’ statement and begin promotion, as opposed to delivering an expected ITF message and a confirmatory statement a week later. Jon Relleen, director of infrastructure & exchanges, supervision, policy & competition at the FCA said that “Market feedback has been clear that these rules can introduce additional risk, cost and complexity without delivering the intended benefits.” A damning indictment of a set of rules the regulator introduced in 2018, it matches a wider trend of the FCA trying to stimulate IPO activity in the UK. Separately, the FCA is also reviewing rules requiring companies to provide independent analysts with the same information as those involved in the transaction, reports Bloomberg.

Whilst AI has been in the limelight more prominently than quantum computing, the latter technology may soon be at the forefront of investors’ minds. Three quantum computing companies have gone public in recent months, and there are five others which plan to before the year end according to the WSJ. Wedbush Securities VP of equity research, Antoine Legault, said “If you have quantum in your company name, you’re worth at least $1 billion from the get go.” That said, most quantum computing companies are going public via Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, or SPACs, allowing them to get to market more quickly without scrutiny of the usual metrics. Perhaps in a bid to ward off investor doubts, candidates are at least providing development milestones and roadmaps. However, it remains to be seen if this new SPAC wave will meet the same fate as 2021’s, or if the power of the technology will bring more success.

London has emerged as a leading hub for share buybacks, according to CityAM, as companies look to capitalise on low valuations and improved investor sentiment. Research from Schroders found that close to 60% of large UK companies conducted buybacks over the past year, compared with around 45% in the US. This activity reflects a valuation gap between markets, with the FTSE 100 trading at a notable discount to the S&P 500. This is prompting companies to return excess cash to shareholders and signal confidence in their own share prices. Duncan Lamont, Head of Strategic Research at Schroders, said buybacks can reinforce the view that UK equities remain undervalued, encouraging broader investor interest. Meanwhile, trends differ elsewhere. In Japan, repurchases reflect a shift towards improved capital discipline and governance, while in Europe they are a signal of perceived undervaluation. In contrast, US companies have slowed buybacks, particularly in the technology sector, where firms are directing capital towards infrastructure investment tied to AI.

CEOs are getting older

Just like Congress, the corner office is greying. Axios reports that the average American CEO is now 61, up from 51 in 2000, with this age differential having profound implications. Research suggests older leaders are, on average, less likely to drive rapid innovation and tend to preside over slower growth. Analysis of a dataset covering 50,000 executives also points to a divergence by company size. Smaller businesses are more inclined to appoint older leaders, while larger groups more often promote from within. Apple’s decision to replace the 65-year-old Tim Cook with the 50-year-old John Ternus is a case in point. This is also not a matter of incumbents staying in post for longer. The average age at appointment has risen to 55, from around the late forties in 2000, with corporations seeking experience and stability in an increasingly uncertain economic climate.

Artificial Intelligence is beginning to enter the boardroom, though not quite as a voting member. New developments in AI make it possible to distil, replicate and even interrogate investor wisdom according to the Financial Times. An emerging development is the use of tailored “personas,” that is, tools that allow directors to tap into perspectives from long-term investors, activists and subject-matter experts to inform discussions. Diligent, for instance, recently introduced a digital assistant designed to act as an on-demand adviser, drawing on both internal materials and external data. Similarly, Lloyds Banking Group and Mubadala have begun using similar tools to support board discussions, while others offer systems to analyse documents, prepare meetings and review governance practices. Despite growing interest, caution still lingers. Legal frameworks do not recognise AI directors, fiduciary duties cannot be delegated to machines, and concerns also persist over data security. For now, these systems are likely to remain behind-the-scenes support functions. But for how long?