A Silicon Valley stock exchange that encourages long-term thinking over short-term gains has landed two marquee tech companies to be among its first listings, reflecting the growing popularity of sustainable investing.
Twilio Inc., a $67 billion software company, and Asana Inc., a roughly $10 billion cloud software company run by Facebook Inc. co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, are the first two companies to agree to dual list their shares on the Long-Term Stock Exchange. The CEOs of both companies, which also are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, were early investors in LTSE with financial stakes of less than 1.5%.
To list on LTSE in August, Twilio and Asana are agreeing to a slate of commitments such as aligning executive and board compensation with long-term performance; taking customers and employees into account; and explaining how the company’s board oversees its long-term strategy. These commitments must be concrete policies that can be monitored by LTSE.
The companies and the exchange hope the listings will be a signal that their stocks should appeal to long-term investors, potentially reeling in some of the hundreds of billions of dollars stashed in funds dedicated to environmental, social and governance investing. It also would lend credence to LTSE, which has long been embraced by venture capitalists and tech founders but has yet to list a single company.
Stock exchanges often serve as gate keepers for corporate governance and provide a platform for a company’s shares to be traded. There are more than a dozen exchanges in the U.S., and most only operate as trading platforms.
