Shareholders invest in businesses with the expectation of receiving returns on their investment. However, on average, 70% of shareholder funds are retained in businesses and not distributed to shareholders. Therefore, the effective deployment of retained capital is critical in delivering strong investor returns. In recognition of this, the London Value Investor Conference has introduced two annual awards for public company CEOs who exhibit exceptional capital allocation skills over multiple years:
The LVIC Award for Best Capital Allocator – UK listed companies
The LVIC Award for Best Capital Allocator – Global listed companies
The criteria used for evaluating good capital allocation practices will include:
- Returning capital to shareholders through dividends or share buybacks when it offers the best return on capital
- Implementing strict cost controls to save shareholders money
- Focusing on return on investment when investing in growth capital expenditures
- Discontinuing or divesting poor-performing, non-core, or loss-making businesses
- Acquiring businesses or large assets at prices that generate superior long-term shareholder returns: