‘Overpaid’ CEOs a Risk for Investors, Study Finds
Executive pay that is disproportionate to a company’s past performance may also signal that poor returns are coming, according to a study released by shareholder activist group As You Sow and reported by Reuters.
The California nonprofit claimed returns for the 100 S&P 500 companies it had identified as having the most questionable pay went on to underperform the index by 2.9 percentage points over a roughly two-year period ended on Jan. 31, writes .
Among the chief executive officers it labeled as “overpaid” was Discovery Communications Inc. CEO David Zaslav, who received $32.4 million in 2015. During the study period, Discovery shares fell 12 percent.