Investors critical of directors

Financial advisors and wealthy investors believe corporate boards act in the best interests of executives rather than shareholders, according to a survey released Tuesday.

Most of those surveyed last month by FTI Consulting Inc. also said they believed that corporate governance practices had improved since the passage of the post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley corporate reform law in 2002.

The survey found that 61% of advisors and 64% of investors consider boards too closely aligned with the interests of executives. More than 200 advisors and investors with at least $1 million of investable assets responded to the survey.