These are nervous days for companies as they wait to see whether their annual meetings will spark shareholder protest. Last year there were some spectacular upsets, particularly over remuneration, in what was crudely labelled “the shareholder spring”.

There will be more complaints over pay this year – rightly so in some cases. Yet a bigger challenge looms – can investors respond to recent reports on the need for them to take a longer-term view? These include a study by the Group of 30, an association mostly composed of former officials and central bankers, and the UK’s government-commissioned Kay Review.

A common thread of these papers is the need for investors to move away from a short-term fixation with the share price, often manifest in agitation for buybacks. Instead, they are urged to focus on a deeper understanding of their business models, their strategic approach and the way that they manage risk. If the shareholder spring is to blossom, the dialogue between companies and investors needs to broaden out.