Bite-Sized Business Law
Looking for the latest in legal business news?
Get a breakdown of the top stories in business law from industry leaders on the front lines with Bite-Sized Business Law. Host Amy Martella takes a closer look at the latest corporate happenings through interviews with the attorneys, legal experts, public figures, and scholars behind the news to distill business law’s biggest stories into bite-sized portions.
This is your chance to go further into the world of business law and stay up to date with legal cases and industry trends.
Corporations impact us all, leading changes that extend far beyond business to shape the economy, public policy, technology, and beyond. Looking at the big picture, Amy discusses not only the underlying issues in business ethics and legal cases leading the biggest stories but also sparks thought-provoking discussions on where the law should be headed.
Amy is the Executive Director of the Corporate Law Center at Fordham University School of Law. Her background ranges from big law to government to tech startups, allowing her to offer an insider’s perspective of the issues that shape corporate actions, large and small. Covering crypto regulation to securities fraud, AI’s impact to Elon Musk’s pay package, Bite-Sized Business Law covers it all with guests of varying viewpoints to provide the nuanced analysis needed to tackle complex problems.
Whether you're looking for the latest in legal insight on intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, business ethics or legal cases in the business law world, you’ll find it here. Enjoying a thoughtful perspective on the news stories of the moment, Bite-Sized Business Law examines big issues and delivers them in small doses.
Bite-Sized Business Law is a project by the Corporate Law Center at Fordham Law. The Center serves as a hub for scholars, professionals, policymakers, and students to engage in the study, discussion, and debate of current issues in corporate law. The Center focuses on aspects of corporate law, corporate compliance, antitrust law, and securities regulation. Through initiatives like the Mergers and Acquisitions seminar and the Securities Litigation and Arbitration Clinic, students actively engage in real-world research and cases, bridging the gap between classroom learning and practical application in the legal field.
Bite-Sized Business Law
The Index Revolution: How One Heretical Idea Changed Investing Forever
Index funds may seem like a no-brainer today, but they were once dismissed as boring and even reckless. In this episode of Bite-Sized Business Law, host Amy Martella is joined by Robin Wigglesworth, global financial correspondent for the Financial Times, where he serves as the editor of Alphaville, and author of Trillions, to trace the unlikely rise of passive investing and what its future holds. Robin recounts how renegade academics and innovators built the first index funds, challenged Wall Street orthodoxy, and sparked a quiet revolution that democratized investing. He brings to life colorful characters like Jack Bogle and Mac McQuown, whose stubborn determination made indexing mainstream. The conversation then turns to today’s challenges, from the explosion of ETFs to the concentration of corporate power among the “Big Three” asset managers. Robin also shares his views on ESG, shareholder activism, and the risks of over-financialization. He offers a preview of his upcoming book, The Greatest Show on Earth, which explores the overlooked but powerful history of the bond market. Listen in for a fascinating journey through the past, present, and future of investing!
Key Points From This Episode:
- Some background on Robin and how he became a financial reporter.
- Why he wrote Trillions and how index funds became “the water” of investing.
- The first index funds and the academics who proved that active managers underperform.
- How figures like Mac McQuown and Jack Bogle made indexing mainstream.
- The role of Boston, Chicago, and San Francisco in the indexing story.
- Personal reflections on Jack Bogle: his drive, and his complicated legacy.
- Today’s indexing challenges: ETF proliferation and the blurred line between active and passive.
- Concerns about power concentration among Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street.
- The debate over ESG, shareholder activism, and symbolic divestment.
- Why index funds still beat most active managers in the long run.
- Human nature and why many investors still choose active management.
- An overview of Warren Buffett and his lasting legacy.
- Robin’s thoughts on AI, systematic strategies, and the future of markets.
- A sneak peek at Robin’s next book, The Greatest Show on Earth, on the 1,000-year history of the bond market.
Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:
Robin Wigglesworth
Robin Wigglesworth on LinkedIn
Financial Times | Alphaville
Fordham University School of Law Corporate Law Center