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Tag Archives | Chevedden

Small Shareholders Critical to Democracy

, November 1, 2018 ,

Some corporations and lobbying organizations claim small shareholders (Chevedden, McRitchie/Young, and the Steiners) submit 40% of proposals, most fail and we are forcing companies to waste money. Actually, small shareholders are critical to democracy. 

This is an old complaint. A 1947 hearing on proxy rules before a House Committee charged shareholder proposal rules would provide a “field day for crackpots.” [165 Com. & Fin. Chron. 273 (May 22, 1947)] A study of 286 shareholder proposals submitted between 1944 and 1951 found that 137, or 48% were submitted by the Gilbert brothers, the so-called crackpots of their day. In 1952, they owned from 5 to 324 shares in 118 companies. Continue Reading →

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Chevedden Group Proxy Proposals

, October 31, 2018 ,

For years, the “Chevedden group” (Chevedden, McRitchie/Young and Steiner) has focused almost exclusively on governance proposals. More democratic corporations are likely to listen to their shareholders on other issues as well.  Democracies facilitate voice and the exchange of ideas. Fighting for environmental and social issues, while extremely important, felt like addressing symptoms, rather than root causes.

Chevedden group proposals seek to declassify boards, require majority votes to elect directors, allow proxy access, and allow shareholders to call special meetings. Since many large cap companies have now adopted such provisions, we are broadening our scope to also focus on other issues. Below are some preliminary results for 2018. Continue Reading →

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Main Street Investors: Battle Coming

, October 2, 2018 ,

The battle over Main Street Investors could determine the future of the American economy for decades to come. According to Cydney Posner of Cooley PubCo, on one side are those who believe investors must focus on maximizing financial return and management knows best. On the other side are those who want to broaden the focus of investors to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues, with everyone participating in the debate. Continue Reading →

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Exempt Solicitation Use Surges

, May 1, 2018 ,

Exempt solicitation use by shareholder proponents will continue to surge. Almost six years ago, SharkRepellent.net documented the rising use of PX14A6G filings. (Proponents Increasingly Proactive Promoting Their Issues by John Laide)

Read any good PX14A6G filings lately? During the 2012 proxy season, sponsors of shareholder proposals have been increasingly making use of rules allowing them to further press their case to stockholders to support their issues. Pursuant to Rule 14a-2(b)(1) of the Exchange Act, a shareholder can freely communicate its views to stockholders without having to comply with the proxy filing and disclosure rules associated with a contested solicitation if it is not seeking proxy voting authority (i.e. the shareholder is not seeking the power to act as proxy for a stockholder and does not provide its own proxy card in its materials).  The filing itself generally takes the form of a letter to fellow shareholders attempting to persuade them to vote for a proposal the shareholder is sponsoring, to vote against a management proposal, or to withhold votes for directors, and will appear on the SEC’s EDGAR filing system alongside the company’s other filings. An exempt solicitation provides an easy, cost-effective way for proponents to express their views and lobby fellow shareholders beyond the 500-word limit imposed by Rule 14a-8 for a proposal and supporting statement in the company’s proxy statement.

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Investor Response to Chamber: Don’t Gut Rights

, November 15, 2017 ,

Investor Response to Chamber: Letter

Representatives of hundreds of investors with trillions of dollars in assets delivered a letter to the SEC on November 9, 2017, An Investor response to U.S. Chamber’s Proposal to Revise SEC Rule 14a-8 (report).

We noted with interest the November 1, 2017, guidance contained in Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14I. While we are reserving judgment about how the guidance may apply in practice, we are particularly pleased by Director Hinman’s accompanying statement that the guidance is not intended to “make things easier or harder for one side or the other, . . . [but] to improve the process.” We strongly support that goal and plan to actively monitor the SEC staff no-action process during the upcoming proxy season to determine whether the goal was achieved.

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Caterpillar Inc Proxy Voting Guide

, June 12, 2017 ,
Caterpillar Inc Proxy Statement

Caterpillar Inc Proxy Voting Guide by CorpGov.net

Sorry, this Caterpillar Inc Proxy Voting Guide comes late, since tomorrow is the last day to vote unless you attend the annual meeting. Caterpillar Inc. (CAT) manufactures and sells construction and mining equipment, diesel and natural gas engines, industrial gas turbines, and diesel-electric locomotives for heavy and general construction, rental, quarry, aggregate, mining, waste, material handling, oil and gas, power generation, marine, rail, and industrial markets. Caterpillar is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two fund families when I checked and voted on the last day. Their annual meeting is coming up on June 14, 2017.

I voted FOR our proposal to reduce the threshold required to hold a special meeting. See how and why I voted other items below. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 70% of the time. View Proxy Statement via SEC’s EDGAR system (look for DEF 14A). Continue Reading →

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Business Roundtable to SEC: Muzzle Shareholders

, November 3, 2016 ,

proxymonitorsmeasurecsmypropsAs I indicated yesterday, I have been contacted by several reporters for comments on the latest screed from the Business Roundtable seeking to muzzle the rights of shareholders. Although I have much more productive ways to occupy my time, it does make sense for me to provide at least some response, since the Business Roundtable names me among those “pursuing special interests… frequently at a significant cost to the company.”

Their statistics do not come from an objective third party, such as Proxy Insight, but from the conservative Manhattan Institute‘s Proxy Monitor (funded in part by the Koch Family Foundations), covering only 250 out of thousands of American companies. The Business Roundtable titled their report Responsible Shareholder Engagement And Long-Term Value Creation: Modernizing the Shareholder Proposal Process. Don’t be fooled by the numbers they use, claiming few proposals pass. The Business Roundtable doesn’t count proposals that don’t make it to the proxy because proponents and companies have reached agreement. They don’t count proposals filed at the thousands of small companies, which tend to have poorer corporate governance practices. ‘Modernization’ for the Business Roundtable means moving the SEC further and further from its primary mandate of ‘investor protection’ by creating a democracy-free zone for entrenched managers.  Continue Reading →

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Union Pacific Corporation: Proxy Score 50

, May 11, 2015 ,

Union PacificUnion Pacific Corporation (NYSE:UNP) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Union Pacific is primarily a railroad operator. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/14/2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 5/7/2015. I voted with management 50% of the time and assigned Union Pacific a proxy score of 50.

View Proxy Statement. Read Warnings below. What follows are my recommendations on how to vote the Union Pacific 2015 proxy in order to enhance corporate governance and long-term value. Continue Reading →

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eBAY Commits to Gender & Racial Diversity: Issues Remain

, March 26, 2015 ,

eBayNew York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli and Trillium Asset Management today announced that they have withdrawn the shareholder proposal they filed at eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY) after the company agreed to revise its Governance Guidelines to include gender and racial diversity among the qualities its seeks in its board members. Several other issues remain on the proxy. Continue Reading →

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Omnicom (OMC) Group Loses to Chevedden: Shareowner Rights Preserved

, March 12, 2014 ,

OmnicomIn a memorandum and order issued yesterday, Judge Louis L. Stanton, of United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, ruled John Chevedden’s motion to dismiss is granted. Omnicom’s motion for summary judgment is denied. “The clerk is requested to enter judgment dismissing the complaint, with costs and disbursements in favor of Mr. Chevedden according to law.” Continue Reading →

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Quick Bites on CorpGov

, January 9, 2014 ,

UnknownDon’t miss the following great reads:

 Activist shareholders’ top priorities for 2014. A must read for directors and shareowners alike. Here’s the first paragraph.

Many of us free ride on actions taken by active, long-term shareholders. These unsung heroes goad managers and boards to reach better decisions, make available desirable employment opportunities and, overall, push them to act like good corporate citizens. These active investors accomplish these things by talking to companies, preparing proxy proposals for all shareholders to consider, and offering recommendations on director elections and company-sponsored proxy measures.

Ralph Ward digs past the standard bullshit in his 2014 Boardroom Insider. Always plenty to chew on in a few short pages. Here’s a tidbit, which I hope will leave you wanting more, which includes more tips than you’ll find in pages and pages of other publications aimed at directors. Continue Reading →

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Biased Ballots: Oshkosh Vote Questioned – Take Action

, February 12, 2013 ,

I found another case of corporate elections where ballot measures failed to be identified “clearly and impartially.” This time at Oshkosh ($OSK). Should we be surprised? Isn’t it time you took a minute out of your day to send a message to the SEC asking for an end to such abuses?

Broadridge claims:

When it comes to proxy ballots, regulations are complex and mailing deadlines are tight. Broadridge helps fulfill regulatory responsibilities efficiently and economically. Broadridge handles the entire process on-line and in real time, from coordination with third-party entities to ordering, inventory maintenance, mailing, tracking and vote tabulation. Continue Reading →

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Netflix: A Candidate for Proxy Access

, November 6, 2012 ,

Netflix Inc. (NFLX),  which has lost half its value in the last two years, adopted an antitakeover plan (poison pill) intended to block activist investor Carl Icahn from expanding his nearly 10% stake. They did so without seeking shareowner approval and the pill may make it harder to find a buyer. Writing for the WSJ, Miriam Gottfried notes, Netflix Pill Should Give Shareholders Pause. Let’s hope shareowners do more than just pause; let’s take action! Continue Reading →

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Gilead Sciences (GILD): How I Voted – Proxy Score 44

, May 8, 2012 ,

Gilead Sciences (GILD) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/10/2012. Voting ends 5/9 on Moxy Vote’s proxy voting platform, which listed 8 “good causes,” but three were consolidations, when I checked and voted on 5/8. ProxyDemocracy.org had 4 funds voting.Gilead scores 44 out of 100, since I voted with management on only 44% of the proxy. Continue Reading →

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Union Pacific (UNP): How I Voted – Proxy Score 13

, May 8, 2012 ,

Union Pacific (UNP) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/10/2012. Voting ends 5/9 on Moxy Vote’s proxy voting platform, which listed nine “good causes,” but three were consolidations, when I checked and voted on 5/7. ProxyDemocracy.org had 1 fund voting.UNP scores 13 out of 100, since I voted with management on only 13% of the proxy. Continue Reading →

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Proxy Access Proposals Challenged: Starting to Post Responses

, January 19, 2012 ,

ISS reported that Textron filed a Dec. 23 no-action petition with the SEC to omit a shareowner proposal from Ken Steiner that seeks proxy access using the model proposal developed by USPX.

This appears to be the first no-action request filed on a proxy access proposal this season. The company asserts that Steiner’s resolution improperly constitutes multiple proposals, is “impermissibly Continue Reading →

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15th Proxy Access Proposal of Season Filed at Nabors

, December 14, 2011 ,

Bermuda-based energy-drilling contractor Nabors Industries Ltd., already being sued by shareowners over executive pay issues now faces a proxy access proposal filed by CalSTRS and nine public pension funds from Connecticut, Illinois, New York and North Carolina. The company’s stock has lost about a quarter of its value this year. According to New York City Comptroller John C. Liu, who submitted the proposal on behalf of the City’s five pension funds,

Expropriating the corporate treasury to fund egregious CEO pay packages at the shareholder’s expense is both a symptom and a consequence of Nabors’ entrenched board. The only way to fix a recalcitrant board is to enable shareholders to elect directors other than those nominated by that same board.

According to a press release from CalSTRS, the funds are part of a larger group of 11 public funds that called upon the Nabors’ board in a September 29 letter (PDF; 61KB) to Continue Reading →

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WSJ Reports Inaccurately on SLAPP Suits

, June 6, 2011 ,

Jessica Holzer, writing for The Wall Street Journal informs readers this morning, Firms Try New Tack Against Gadflies: Corporations Look to Block Shareholder Activists’ Proposals by Challenging the Size of Their Stakes – WSJ.com.

Companies have long viewed shareholder activist John Chevedden as a pain. The retired aerospace worker and his network of like-minded activists are behind more than 100 proposed changes in corporate governance filed each year for other shareholders.

Two companies have found a new way to block his proposals: They successfully sued Mr. Chevedden, arguing he had no right to offer shareholder proposals because he hadn’t proved ownership of enough of their stock.

While Ms. Holzer did some degree of minimal background work in preparing her article, her reporting is neither fair nor balanced. She certainly did not dig beneath the surface. If companies really think RAM Trust Services is falsely reporting Mr. Chevedden’s ownership, why don’t they sue Continue Reading →

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