Reading 21
MODULE 21.1: STAKEHOLDERS AND ESG FACTORS
Compare the financial claims and motivations of lenders and shareholders.
A company's lenders (debtholders) have a legal, contractual claim to the interest and principal payments the company has promised to make. Owners (equity holders) have a residual claim to the company's net assets (i.e., what remains after all other claims have been paid). That is, lenders have a higher priority of claims than equity owners. Because debt is less risky than equity, it is a less costly form of capital.
Both debtholders and equity holders can potentially lose their entire investment if a company fails, but their losses cannot exceed the amounts they have invested. A key difference between debt and equity investments is their upside potential. Regardless of a company's success, the best result debtholders can achieve is to receive the interest and principal payments promised by the company. Equity, on the other hand, has a theoretically unlimited upside if a company succeeds and grows over time.
The value of a company is the sum of the value of its debt and the value of its equity. As the company's value increases (assuming its value is greater than the value of its debt), the value of equity increases with it, while the value of debt is constant (i.e., no upside for debt investors from company growth). If the value of a company is less than the value of its debt, the value of its equity is zero, and the value of its debt is below the promised amount and moves with the value of the company (i.e., debt has downside exposure).
公司的借款人（債權人，debtholders）對公司承諾支付的利息與本金具有法律合約上的請求權。所有者（股東，equity holders）則對公司淨資產享有剩餘請求權（residual claim），即在所有其他請求被清償後才輪到他們。也就是說，債權人的請求權優先於股東。由於債務的風險低於股權，它也是成本較低的資本形式。
若公司倒閉，債權人與股東都可能損失全部投資，但損失不會超過各自投入的金額。債務投資與股權投資的關鍵差異在於上行潛力（upside potential）：無論公司有多成功，債權人最好的結果也只是收到公司承諾的利息和本金。股票則理論上有無限的上行空間。
公司的總價值 = 債務價值 + 股權價值。當公司價值上升（且公司價值 > 債務價值時），股權價值隨之增加，但債務價值不變（債務投資人無法從公司成長中獲益）。若公司價值低於債務價值，股權價值歸零，債務價值也低於承諾金額，並隨公司價值而波動（即債務有下行風險）。
A company with revenues of $1,000 and operating expenses of $800 needs to invest $1,000 in assets. The assets can be 100% equity or a mix of 50/50 debt and equity. The interest rate on debt is 10% (assume no taxes). Calculate the ROE under both financing scenarios.
Answer:
| 100% Equity | 50% Debt, 50% Equity | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| Cash operating expense | $800 | $800 |
| Interest expense | $0 | $50 |
| Net income | $200 | $150 |
| Equity | $1,000 | $500 |
| ROE | 20% | 30% |
As can be seen in the previous example, increasing leverage (and therefore, risk) can increase the return on equity as long as the expected rate of return on assets exceeds the cost of debt. If things work out, and the actual return on assets is equal to or exceeds the cost of debt, the equity investors benefit from taking the risk. Debt investors, however, receive only their promised 10% interest (and the return of principal when the debt matures).
Continuing the previous example, calculate the company's ROE if its revenues decrease by 15%, assuming no change in cash operating expenses.
Answer:
| 100% Equity | 50% Debt, 50% Equity | |
|---|---|---|
| Revenues | $850 | $850 |
| Cash operating expense | $800 | $800 |
| Interest expense | $0 | $50 |
| Net income | $50 | $0 |
| Equity | $1,000 | $500 |
| ROE | 5% | 0% |
Assuming no change in cash operating expenses, a 15% decrease in revenues would reduce the ROE to 5% (100% equity scenario) or to 0% (50/50 debt and equity scenario). If the decrease in revenues exceeded 15%, revenues would not have been enough to cover operating expenses, and debt investors would receive less than their promised 10% interest. Again, debt investors have no upside—only potential downside.
Because of the difference in their risk profiles, the interests of debtholders may conflict with the interests of equity holders. Debtholders are primarily concerned with a company's ability to repay its obligations and less concerned with its potential growth prospects. Equity holders may favor actions that increase a company's potential growth, but also increase its risk level, such as adding financial leverage by issuing new debt. Issuing additional debt as opposed to equity also prevents dilution of shareholders' proportional ownership. A company's existing debtholders may oppose such actions because increasing the company's risk (and the probability of defaulting on its debts) does not increase their expected return. Therefore, debt investors usually limit borrowers' actions by including contractual provisions such as maximum leverage or a minimum interest coverage ratio (known as covenants, which we will examine in the Fixed Income topic area) in debt agreements.
【例一】槓桿對股東權益報酬率（ROE）的影響
某公司收入 $1,000、營業費用 $800，需要投資 $1,000 在資產上。可全部用股權融資，或以 50% 債務 / 50% 股權混合融資，債務利率 10%（假設無稅）。
- 100% 股權方案：利息費用 $0；淨利 $1,000 − $800 = $200；股權 $1,000；ROE = $200 / $1,000 = 20%。
- 50/50 方案：債務 $500 × 10% = $50 利息費用；淨利 $1,000 − $800 − $50 = $150；股權 $500；ROE = $150 / $500 = 30%。
由上可知，只要資產的預期報酬率超過債務成本，增加槓桿就能提升 ROE（股東權益報酬率）。若實際資產報酬率 ≥ 債務成本，股權投資人從承擔額外風險中獲益；但債務投資人只能收到承諾的 10% 利息（及到期還本），無額外上行收益。
【例二】收入下降的影響
延續上例，若收入下降 15%（$1,000 × 85% = $850），營業費用不變：
- 100% 股權：淨利 = $850 − $800 = $50；ROE = $50 / $1,000 = 5%。
- 50/50：淨利 = $850 − $800 − $50 = $0；ROE = $0 / $500 = 0%。
若收入跌幅超過 15%，甚至無法覆蓋營業費用，債務投資人也可能收不到承諾的 10% 利息。再次印證：債務投資人沒有上行空間，只有潛在的下行風險。
由於風險結構不同，債權人與股東的利益可能發生衝突。債權人主要關心公司的還款能力，對成長前景關心較少。股東可能支持那些提升成長潛力但同時提高風險的行為（例如發行新債增加財務槓桿）。增發債務（而非股票）還能避免股東的持股比例被稀釋（dilution）。現有債權人則可能反對，因為提高公司風險（以及違約概率）並不能提高他們的預期報酬。因此，債務投資人通常在貸款協議中加入限制條款，如最大槓桿比例或最低利息保障倍數，即契約條款（covenants）（詳見固定收益章節）。
Describe a company's stakeholder groups and compare their interests.
Under shareholder theory, the primary focus of corporate governance is the interests of the firm's shareholders, which is to maximize the market value of the firm's common equity. Under this theory, corporate governance is primarily concerned with the conflict of interest between the firm's managers and its owners (shareholders).
The focus of corporate governance under stakeholder theory is broader. It considers conflicts among several groups that have an interest in the activities and performance of the firm.
Stakeholders of a Corporation
Shareholders have a residual interest in the corporation, in that they have claim to the net assets of the corporation after all liabilities have been settled. Shareholders have voting rights to elect the board of directors and for other important corporate matters, which gives them control over the firm and its management. They have an interest in ongoing profitability and growth of the firm that will increase the value of their ownership shares.
Lenders can be public or private debtholders. Public debtholders or bondholders supply debt capital to the firm and are primarily owners of the firm's outstanding bonds, while private debtholders such as banks extend loans, credit facilities, and leases to the firm.
Private debtholders may have access to nonpublic information from company management, which decreases information asymmetry. For this reason, private debtholders are a critical source of financing for small-to-medium-sized businesses. In some cases, private debtholders hold equity in the firm, allowing them to take a more equity-like approach to evaluating the company and potentially making them more amenable to changes in terms of the loans (i.e., covenants). By contrast, bondholders rely only on public information and have little to no influence over an issuer's operations. The interests of both types of lenders are protected to varying degrees by covenants in their debt agreements with the firm.
在股東理論（shareholder theory）下，公司治理的核心是股東利益，即最大化普通股的市場價值。此理論主要關注公司管理層與所有者（股東）之間的利益衝突。
利害關係人理論（stakeholder theory）則更廣泛，它考量所有對公司活動與業績有利益關係的群體之間的衝突。
公司的利害關係人：
股東（Shareholders）對公司享有剩餘利益（residual interest）——即在所有負債清償後，才對淨資產提出請求。股東有選舉董事會及其他重大公司事項的投票權，從而掌控公司及管理層。他們關心公司的持續盈利能力與成長，因為這將增加持股價值。
借款人（Lenders）可分為公開或私人債務持有人。公開債務持有人即債券持有人（bondholders），主要持有公司發行的債券；私人債務持有人（private debtholders）如銀行，則向公司提供貸款、信貸額度和租賃。
私人債務持有人可能接觸到管理層的非公開資訊，從而減少資訊不對稱。因此，他們是中小型企業的重要融資來源。某些情況下，私人債務持有人也持有公司股權，能以更接近股權的視角評估公司，並可能更靈活地修改貸款條款（即契約條款）。相比之下，債券持有人只依賴公開資訊，對發行人的運營幾乎沒有影響力。兩類借款人的利益均受其與公司債務協議中的契約條款（covenants）所保護，但保護程度不同。
The board of directors is responsible for protecting the interests of shareholders; hiring, firing, and setting the compensation of the firm's senior managers; establishing the strategic direction of the firm; and monitoring the company's financial performance and other aspects of its ongoing activities.
Board members include inside directors (e.g., senior executives, founders) and independent directors who have no material relationship with the company. While inside directors may have conflicts of interest with shareholders, independent directors may better protect shareholders' interests.
In a one-tier board structure, both inside and independent directors serve on a single board. Major stock exchanges specify requirements for director independence, such that most of the board should comprise independent directors. Other requirements may include diversity of backgrounds and competencies. In continental Europe, boards have a two-tier structure in which a supervisory board oversees a management board comprising inside directors.
Typically, board members are elected for a specified term (e.g., annual). In a staggered board, only a fraction of the board is elected each year. This decreases the power of shareholders to enact a major overhaul of the board. Firms with staggered boards justify them as providing continuity and allowing for a longer-term view of company strategy.
Senior managers typically receive compensation (remuneration) that is made up of a salary, a bonus based on some measure of company performance, and perks (e.g., expense accounts, use of company planes, special retirement benefits). Their interests can be expected to include continued employment and maximizing the total value of their compensation. Executive bonuses are typically tied to some measure of firm performance, giving senior managers a strong interest in the financial success of the firm.
Other employees are the human capital of the company, who provide their labor and skills. Employees also have an interest in the sustainability and success of the firm. They have interests in their rate of pay, opportunities for career advancement, training, and working conditions. Employees may hold equity in the company by participating in employee stock participation plans, which are designed to align their interests with those of the shareholders of the company. In some industries, employees join unions to negotiate the terms of their employment.
Suppliers of resources to the firm have an interest in preserving an ongoing relationship with the firm, in the profitability of their trade with the firm, and in the growth and ongoing stability of the firm. Because suppliers are typically short-term creditors of the firm, they also have an interest in the firm's solvency and ongoing financial strength.
Customers rely on the company to provide a good or service of high quality at a reasonable price. Customers may also have an interest in preserving an ongoing relationship to receive support and after-sale service. Maintaining the good will of customers is critical for the long-term prospects of any company. Customers increasingly care about environmental and social responsibilities of corporations.
Governments rely on corporations for tax revenue, economic growth, social welfare, and employment creation. Regulators have an interest in ensuring compliance with various laws.
董事會（Board of directors）負責：保護股東利益；聘用、解雇高階管理人員及制定其薪酬；確立公司戰略方向；監督財務業績及公司日常活動。
董事會成員包括內部董事（inside directors）（如高管、創始人）和獨立董事（independent directors）（與公司無重大利益關係）。內部董事可能與股東存在利益衝突，獨立董事則更能保護股東利益。
單層董事會結構（one-tier board structure）：內部董事與獨立董事同在一個董事會。主要證券交易所對董事獨立性有要求，董事會多數成員須為獨立董事，並可能對背景多元性和能力有所要求。歐洲大陸常採雙層結構（two-tier structure）：監事會（supervisory board）監督由內部董事組成的管理委員會（management board）。
董事通常有固定任期（如每年改選）。交錯式董事會（staggered board）每年只改選部分董事，這降低了股東對董事會進行大幅調整的能力。公司通常以「確保延續性、有利於長期戰略規劃」為採用交錯式改選的理由。
高階管理人員（Senior managers）的薪酬通常包括：底薪、基於公司業績的獎金，以及福利（如費用帳戶、公務機使用、特殊退休福利）。他們的利益通常包括保持職位和最大化總薪酬。高管獎金一般與公司業績掛鉤，使管理層對公司財務成功有強烈興趣。
其他員工是公司的人力資本（human capital），提供勞動力和技能。員工對公司的可持續性和成功有利益，關心薪資水準、晉升機會、培訓及工作條件。員工可能通過員工持股計劃持有公司股票，以使其利益與股東一致。部分行業的員工會組成工會（unions）談判就業條款。
供應商（Suppliers）希望維持與公司的持續合作關係，關心交易的獲利能力及公司的成長與穩定。由於供應商通常是公司的短期債權人，他們也關心公司的償債能力與財務實力。
客戶（Customers）依賴公司提供高品質、合理價格的商品或服務，也可能希望維持長期關係以獲得售後支持。維護客戶的良好意願（goodwill）對公司的長期發展至關重要。客戶日益關注企業的環境和社會責任。
政府（Governments）依賴企業提供稅收、促進經濟增長、改善社會福利和創造就業。監管機構（regulators）則希望確保企業遵守各項法律法規。
Describe environmental, social, and governance factors of corporate issuers considered by investors.
Some debt and equity investors who take a stakeholder perspective are interested in evaluating companies' environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors. This is primarily due to three reasons:
- Government stakeholders increasingly prioritize climate change and social policies through regulatory changes.
- ESG factors can have a material impact on companies' results through potential loss of customer good will and financial losses due to fines and judgments. Poor corporate governance may lead to senior managers exploiting shareholders to advance personal interests.
- Many younger investors increasingly manage their wealth with ESG considerations in mind.
Negative externalities arise when a company or its investors do not bear the full cost of its actions (e.g., environmental damage). Increased government regulations and stakeholder awareness necessitate companies to recognize these costs, either explicitly in their financial statements or implicitly.
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors include company contributions to problems such as climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, energy efficiency, waste management, or water scarcity. Material environmental factors can have a substantial impact on companies' operations or business models. Industries that are natural resource intensive have a direct impact on the environment, but other industries may have indirect impacts.
With respect to climate change, companies may face physical risk of adverse effects on assets or operations if severe weather increases in frequency, as well as transition risk as government regulations or consumer choices require switching from high-carbon to low-carbon activities. Stranded assets are those that become unviable due to such changes. Poor safety policies or inadequate governance systems increase the risks for adverse events such as oil spills and contamination of groundwater. The costs of penalties, cleanup, litigation, and loss of reputation can be significant risks for a company's investors.
Social Factors
Social factors include the protection of customer privacy and information security, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, labor relations, and community relations. Social factors contribute to a company's image in terms of how it treats its employees, customers, and the communities in which it operates. Taking measures to decrease social risk can reduce a company's costs through higher employee productivity, lower turnover, increased customer loyalty, and less risk of litigation.
Governance
Corporate governance encompasses factors such as the composition of the board and the internal audit committee, executive compensation, bribery and corruption, political contributions, and lobbying. Corporate governance systems should have adequate checks to ensure that managers act ethically, lawfully, and in the interests of shareholders.
Evaluation of ESG Risks
Analysts should identify and measure the ESG-related risks to which a company may be exposed and how they can affect the company's future cash flows. Equity investors bear the brunt of the risk from adverse outcomes. Debt investors have less exposure to adverse events unless they result in losses large enough to bring about default. Not all debtholders are equally exposed to ESG risks. Because some such risks may be delayed (e.g., a coal-fired electricity plant that is currently in compliance may become obsolete in the future), longer-maturity debt investors may have more exposure than short-term debt investors.
部分從利害關係人角度出發的債務和股權投資人，希望評估公司的環境、社會與治理（ESG，Environmental, Social, and Governance）因素，主要原因有三：
- 政府利害關係人日益通過監管政策優先推動氣候變化和社會政策。
- ESG 因素可能透過客戶商譽損失、罰款和訴訟等方式對公司業績產生重大影響。公司治理不善可能導致管理層為個人利益而損害股東權益。
- 許多年輕投資人在管理財富時日益重視 ESG 考量。
當公司或其投資人未承擔其行為的全部成本時（如環境損害），就會產生負外部性（negative externalities）。政府監管的加強和利害關係人意識的提升，使企業必須在財務報表上明確或隱性地認列這些成本。
環境因素（Environmental Factors）：包括公司對氣候變化、空氣和水污染、砍伐森林、能源效率、廢棄物管理或水資源短缺等問題的貢獻。重大環境因素可能對公司的運營或商業模式產生實質影響。自然資源密集型產業對環境有直接影響，其他行業也可能有間接影響。
在氣候變化方面，公司可能面臨：
- 實體風險（physical risk）：極端天氣頻率增加可能對資產或運營造成不利影響。
- 轉型風險（transition risk）：政府法規或消費者選擇要求從高碳活動轉向低碳活動。
- 擱置資產（stranded assets）：因上述變化而變得無法持續運營的資產。
安全政策不足或治理系統不完善，會增加石油洩漏、地下水污染等不利事件的風險，罰款、清理、訴訟和聲譽損失的成本可能對投資人構成重大風險。
社會因素（Social Factors）：包括保護客戶隱私和信息安全、客戶滿意度、員工投入度、多元化與包容性、勞動關係和社區關係。社會因素影響公司的企業形象，體現在其如何對待員工、客戶及所在社區。降低社會風險的措施可以通過提高員工生產力、降低人員流動率、增加客戶忠誠度和減少訴訟風險來降低公司成本。
治理（Governance）：公司治理因素包括董事會和內部審計委員會的構成、高管薪酬、賄賂和腐敗、政治獻金及遊說活動。公司治理系統應有充分的制衡機制，確保管理人員以符合道德、法律和股東利益的方式行事。
ESG 風險評估（Evaluation of ESG Risks）：分析師應識別和衡量公司可能面臨的 ESG 相關風險，以及這些風險如何影響公司未來的現金流。股權投資人承受不利結果的主要風險；債務投資人承受的不利事件風險較小，除非損失大到足以引發違約。並非所有債務持有人對 ESG 風險的敞口都相同。由於某些風險可能有延遲效應（例如，目前合規的燃煤電廠未來可能被淘汰），長期債務投資人可能比短期債務投資人承擔更多敞口。
- A. equity holders.
- B. debtholders.
- C. neither debtholders nor equity holders.
- A. Majority independent and staggered elections.
- B. Majority independent and full board election.
- C. Majority inside and staggered elections.
- A. governance factors.
- B. social factors.
- C. stranded assets.
A company's debtholders have a higher priority of claims than its equity holders. Debtholders have a legal claim to the promised interest and principal payments. Equity holders have a residual claim to the company's net assets after debtholders have been paid.
Debt has limited upside potential because the best result for debtholders is to receive the promised principal and interest payments. Equity has theoretically unlimited upside potential. This difference may create conflicts of interest between debtholders and equity holders.
The primary stakeholders of a corporation include shareholders, debtholders, the board of directors, senior management, employees, creditors, suppliers, and government. Stakeholder theory postulates that a company needs to balance the interests of all stakeholders.
Environmental factors include company contributions to climate change, air and water pollution, deforestation, energy efficiency, waste management, and water scarcity.
Social factors include the protection of customer privacy and information security, customer satisfaction, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, labor relations, and community relations.
Corporate governance factors include the composition of the board, executive compensation, the internal audit function, bribery and corruption, political contributions, and lobbying.
LOS 21.a
公司的債務持有人（debtholders）的請求權優先於股東（equity holders）。債務持有人對承諾的利息和本金支付擁有法律請求權；股東在債務持有人獲清償後，對公司淨資產享有剩餘請求權（residual claim）。
債務的上行潛力有限，債務持有人最好的結果是收到承諾的本金和利息；股票則理論上有無限的上行潛力。此差異可能導致債務持有人與股東之間的利益衝突。
LOS 21.b
公司的主要利害關係人（stakeholders）包括：股東、債務持有人、董事會、高階管理層、員工、債權人、供應商和政府。利害關係人理論（stakeholder theory）認為公司需要平衡所有利害關係人的利益。
LOS 21.c
環境因素（environmental factors）包括：公司對氣候變化、空氣和水污染、砍伐森林、能源效率、廢棄物管理及水資源短缺的貢獻。
社會因素（social factors）包括：保護客戶隱私和資訊安全、客戶滿意度、員工投入度、多元化與包容性、勞動關係及社區關係。
公司治理因素（corporate governance factors）包括：董事會構成、高管薪酬、內部稽核功能、賄賂與腐敗、政治獻金及遊說活動。
1. A — If a company is financially sound, it is repaying interest and principal in full and on time. Debtholders have no additional claims to increased company profits. Equity holders benefit from the upside of a company's growth. (LOS 21.a)
2. B — Minority shareholders prefer independent directors, as they would act in the best interests of the shareholders as opposed to acting in the interests of the management. Full board election would allow the shareholders to vote out the board if it was ineffective. Staggered elections delay changes to the board membership. (LOS 21.b)
3. C — Stranded assets arise from obsolescence of existing assets that do not conform to new environmental standards. (LOS 21.c)
模組測驗 21.1 答案：
1. 答案：A — 若公司財務狀況良好，代表它已按時足額償還利息和本金。債務持有人對公司增加的利潤沒有額外請求權。股權持有人可從公司成長的上行潛力中獲益。（LOS 21.a）
2. 答案：B — 少數股東偏好獨立董事，因為獨立董事會以股東的最佳利益行事，而非管理層的利益。整體改選（full board election）讓股東可以在董事會績效不彰時整批投票罷免。交錯式選舉（staggered elections）則延遲了董事會成員的更替。（LOS 21.b）
3. 答案：C — 擱置資產（stranded assets）源自現有資產因不符合新環境法規而被淘汰。（LOS 21.c）