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Reason, Rationality, and Fiduciary Duty

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  • Steve Lydenberg

Abstract

This paper argues that since the last decades of the twentieth century the discipline of modern finance has directed fiduciaries to act "rationally"—that is, in the sole financial interest of their funds--downplaying the effects of their investments on others. This approach has deemphasized a previous, more "reasonable" interpretation of fiduciary duty that drew on a conception of prudence characterized by wisdom, discretion and intelligence—one that accounts to a greater degree for the relationship between one's investments and their effects on others in the world. The reasonable approach allows fiduciaries to a greater degree to assess the objective well-being of beneficiaries, to recognize fundamental sources of investment reward in the economy, and to fulfill their obligations to allocate benefits impartially between current and future generations. Reason and rationality can work in a complementary fashion to make investment long-term in its perspective and beneficial to society and the economy as well as to specific funds or portfolios. Determining how to accomplish this challenging task is part of the obligation of fiduciaries as they seek to realize the full potential of the investment assets entrusted to their care. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Suggested Citation

  • Steve Lydenberg, 2014. "Reason, Rationality, and Fiduciary Duty," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 119(3), pages 365-380, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jbuset:v:119:y:2014:i:3:p:365-380
    DOI: 10.1007/s10551-013-1632-3
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    1. World Commission on Environment and Development,, 1987. "Our Common Future," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780192820808.
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    Cited by:

    1. Gordon Menzies & Donald Hay & Thomas Simpson & David Vines, 2019. "Restoring Trust in Finance: From Principal–Agent to Principled Agent," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 95(311), pages 497-509, December.
    2. Boyu Li & Lishan Li & Tianlei Pi, 2022. "Is the R&D Expenditure of Listed Companies Green? Evidence from China’s A-Share Market," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-16, September.
    3. Helen J. Mussell, 2023. "Theorising the Fiduciary: Ontology and Ethics," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 186(2), pages 293-307, August.
    4. Stefan Ouma, 2020. "This can(’t) be an asset class: The world of money management, “society†, and the contested morality of farmland investments," Environment and Planning A, , vol. 52(1), pages 66-87, February.
    5. Eleanor Burt & Samuel Mansell, 2019. "Moral Agency in Charities and Business Corporations: Exploring the Constraints of Law and Regulation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 59-73, September.
    6. Neil Stuart Eccles, 2018. "Remarks on Lydenberg’s “Reason, Rationality and Fiduciary Duty”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(1), pages 55-68, August.
    7. Shu Ling Lin & Jun Lu & Jung-Bin Su & Wei-Peng Chen, 2018. "Sustainable Returns: The Effect of Regional Industrial Development Policy on Institutional Investors’ Behavior in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-28, August.
    8. Greg Filbeck & Timothy A. Krause & Lauren Reis, 2016. "Socially responsible investing in hedge funds," Journal of Asset Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 17(6), pages 408-421, October.
    9. Helen Mussell, 2019. "Elucidating Limited Shareholder Engagement: Identifying Ethical and Epistemological Factors in the Fiduciary," Working Papers wp516, Centre for Business Research, University of Cambridge.
    10. Bertrand Malsch & Marie-Soleil Tremblay & Jeffrey Cohen, 2022. "Non-audit Engagements and the Creation of Public Value: Consequences for the Public Interest," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 178(2), pages 467-479, June.
    11. Amiruddin BIN MUHAMED & Rebecca STRÄTLING & Aly SALAMA, 2014. "The Impact Of Government Investment Organizations In Malaysia On The Performance Of Their Portfolio Companies," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 85(3), pages 453-473, September.
    12. Kosheek Sewchurran & Johan Dekker & Jennifer McDonogh, 2019. "Experiences of Embedding Long-Term Thinking in an Environment of Short-Termism and Sub-par Business Performance: Investing in Intangibles for Sustainable Growth," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 997-1041, July.
    13. Isaline Thirion & Patrick Reichert & Virginie Xhauflair & Jonathan Jonck, 2022. "From Fiduciary Duty to Impact Fidelity: Managerial Compensation in Impact Investing," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(4), pages 991-1010, September.
    14. Clare Jane M. Burns & Luke Houghton & Heather Stewart, 2020. "Sustainability – A key to Australian finance directors improving their organisation's CSR culture," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(2), pages 1164-1176, March.
    15. Céline Louche & Timo Busch & Patricia Crifo & Alfred Marcus, 2019. "Financial Markets and the Transition to a Low-Carbon Economy: Challenging the Dominant Logics," Post-Print hal-02016756, HAL.

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