Arthur Levitt Jr.

United States
3 Feb 1931 // 9 Feb 2001
Financial Advisor

Quotes

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If investors lose faith in the integrity of our markets' prices, they will go elsewhere. If investors believe that they are not receiving high quality financial information, they will go elsewhere. If they believe that their interests are being placed secondary for any reason whatsoever, they will go elsewhere.

Speech, Economic Club of Washington, Washington, D C. (2000)
Investors today commit capital because they have confidence in the quality and the integrity of America's markets. That faith does more than fuel markets � it makes markets possible. In many respects, the dynamism of our market system depends on integrity, professionalism, and the public confidence they inspire.

Speech, Economic Club of Washington, Washington, D.C. (2000)
I have come to view strong corporate governance as indispensable to resilient and vibrant capital markets. It is the blood that fills the veins of transparent corporate disclosure... the muscle that moves a viable and accessible financial reporting structure. And without financial reporting premised on sound, honest numbers, capital markets will collapse upon themselves, suffocate and die.

Speech to the Audit Committee Symposium, New York City. 'An Essential Next Step in the Evolution of Corporate Governance' (1999)
Too many CEO's are being judged today not by how effectively they manage operations, but by how they manage the Street. Too many analysts are being judged not by how well they analyze a particular company, but by how well they assist in selling the latest deal.

Speech, New York University Center for Law and Business, New York City. 'Renewing the Covenant with Investors' (2000)
Increasingly, I have become concerned that the motivation to meet Wall Street earnings expectations may be overriding common sense business practices... Managing maybe giving way to manipulation; Integrity may be losing out to illusion.

Speech to the New York University Center for Law and Business, New York City. 'The Numbers Game' (1998)
The dynamic nature of today's capital markets creates issues that increasingly move beyond the bright line of right and wrong...financial market participants grapple with questions in a gray area where there are no easy answers. It :s in this realm where judgment and integrity are indispensable for effective corporate governance.

Speech, Directors' College, Stanford Law School, Stanford University, California (1999)
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