Shareholder oversight of executive pay

If we argue that executive pay is purely the preserve of boards and shareholders, and we accept the reality that - despite being intermediaries who do not have the economic interest in the shares held - asset managers are the 'shareholders' that get consulted on and vote on exec pay, then, essentially, executive pay is overseen by part of the City. What could possibly go wrong??

Here's a very honest view from F&C - 

“Our job as asset managers is not to serve as arbiters on what is fair and not fair in a societal context.”

So don't expect giving shareholders more power to do much more than result in pay policies that are acceptable to asset managers, including massive bonuses and incentives.