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Mr Tomlinson highlighted that, while institutional investors ideally invest over a longer time horizon, in practice, this stance was made problematic by the regulatory burden placed upon them. He argued that it made little sense to berate short-termism "without thinking about the pressures that are applied to long-term investors", such as life assurance companies and pension schemes – referencing both accounting standards and solvency regulations.
"We built an investment system in which many people collect substantial rewards for stimulating short-term behaviour", he said. "You can't create a system of this sort and then complain when that stimulus works – so don't just look at the investors, look also at the investment banks and the other players in the chain."
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