You probably expect your investments to be put to work — for you. However, that might not always be the case.
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During a January episode of the “Rich Dad Radio Show” titled “Your Wealth is Being Stolen — Here’s How,” Robert Kiyosaki and Jared Teach explained why they believe your investments might not be as lucrative as you imagine.
Being informed is the best way to protect your assets, so you might be interested in what they have to say. Here are three ways Kiyosaki and Teach believe your wealth is being stolen.
When you invest your money with a company, you may think your best interests are prioritized, but Kiyosaki and Teach said that isn’t always the case. Teach explained the concepts of shareholder and stakeholder capitalism.
He said a corporation’s job is to return as much capital as possible to its shareholders, but it also has to consider everyone who touches the company as a stakeholder). He noted the U.S. has fiduciary laws that require companies to return as much money as possible to shareholders and do what’s best for them, since they are its legal owners.
In total, companies have four fiduciary duties to investors, according to Harvard Business School Online. This includes the duty of obedience, duty of information, duty of loyalty and duty of care.
Currently, Teach doesn’t believe shareholders’ interests are being put first. He told Kiyosaki that there needs to be a return to shareholder capitalistic values, which would require a push away from environmental, social and governance standards (ESG) and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
“Everyone wants equality, everyone wants a better earth for their children,” Teach said. But at the same time, it has been hijacked as a Trojan horse for a lot of social political events that are harming companies. Kiyosaki agreed with this sentiment.
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“It’s like if I’m an investor in a company, I’m being ripped off by the fund managers and things I don’t [know] is beyond me,” Teach said.
He said that asset managers are taking shareholders’ retirement money and pushing their agendas in the boardroom, he explained, explaining that SEC changes made after the Enron scandal in 2001 require people who invest with an asset manager to forfeit their proxy vote to the asset manager.
