While institutional investors do trade stock regularly, and sometimes rapidly, financial firms like Fidelity Investments, Vanguard, and other mutual funds have maintained 12-15-month holding periods for stocks for decades. Moreover, while much has been made of a new fringe of program traders that moves in and out of stocks in nanoseconds, the belief that this rapid computer-driven trading makes it impossible – or even difficult – for corporate managers to adopt a long-term perspective is not supported by the facts.