A new study by MSCI relates the highest-paid CEOs with the lowest shareholder value.
MSCI researchers Ric Marshall and Linda-Eling Lee compared the salaries of 800 US-based CEOs in large and medium-sized companies with the returns to their shareholders during their board tenure. They find that a high CEO pay did not correlate with higher returns.
In fact the “highest paid [CEOs] had the worst performance by a significant margin“. On the other hand the lowest-paid CEOs were the ones who “more consistently displayed higher long-term investment returns”.
As Peter Yeung writes on his article for The Independent,
The study, carried out by corporate research firm MSCI, found that for every $100 (£76) invested in companies with the highest-paid CEOs would have grown to $265 (£202) over 10 years.
But the same amount invested in the companies with the lowest-paid CEOs would have grown to $367 (£279) over a decade.
The MSCI study is available online (no subscription required).
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