CalPERS Votes Against Pay at More Companies Than Ever CalPERS votes against pay at 53% of companies during 2019 proxy season, truly setting an example with regard to stewardship around executive pay. That is up from 43% last year. I would be interested in an update of last year’s graphic (S&P 500 only, as above) […]
By August 31, 2018, California could become the first state in the nation with gender quotas to mandate publicly held companies that base their operations in the state to have women on their boards. The legislation—SB 826—will require public companies headquartered in California to have a minimum of one female on its board of directors […]
Starbucks Corp (SBUX), operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide. Most shareholders do not vote because reading through 70 pages of the proxy is not worth the time for the small difference your vote will make. Below, I tell you how I am voting and why. If you have read these posts […]
The Clorox Company, CLX, manufactures and markets consumer and professional products worldwide. It operates through four segments: Cleaning, Household, Lifestyle, and International. CLX opposes giving shareholders effective proxy access to enable us to place nominees on our company’s ballot. Shareholders have no right to act by written consent. It takes 25% of shareholders to call […]
Are we paying CEOs too much? Is the Pope Catholic? (That’s my own bad joke, not from the panelists.) Executive compensation is front and center on the minds of shareholders, regulators—and politicians. What IS pay? What IS performance? What are the right time frames for measuring performance? And what to do about the perception that […]
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS), together with its subsidiaries, operates as an entertainment company worldwide. The Walt Disney Company is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three fund families when I checked and voted. Their annual meeting is coming up on March 8, 2017. I voted FOR Proxy Access Amendments. See […]
Apple Inc. (NASD:AAPL) designs, manufactures, and markets mobile communication and media devices, personal computers, and portable digital music players to consumers, small and mid-sized businesses, and education, enterprise, and government customers worldwide. AAPL is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted. Their annual meeting is coming […]
Proxy Statements Disclosing Engagement Nearly half of S&P 100 companies included information in their proxy statements that showed how they responded to shareholder concerns and made changes to policies, according to a new report from Equilar, Innovations in Proxy Design, featuring commentary from Donnelley Financial Solutions and Pay Governance. In 2012, just 14.3% of the S&P […]
Whole Foods Proxy Access, we have another chance to vote to make proxy access real before the annual meeting on February 17. Whole Foods Market, Inc. (NASD:WFM) is a retailer of natural and organic foods and is one of the stocks in my portfolio. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I checked and voted. I […]
The new Equilar GDI (Gender Diversity Index) found it will take nearly 40 years for Russell 3000 boards of directors to reach gender parity. If the current rate of growth remains the same, Russell 3000 boards would reach 50% male and 50% female representation in Q4 2055. Diversity Forum I urge readers 5/10 join CalPERS […]
United Natural Foods Inc (UNFI) is a distributor and retailer of natural, organic and specialty products. The Wholesale segment is engaged in the national distribution of natural, organic and specialty foods, produce and related products in the United States and Canada. The Other segment includes a retail division, which engages in the sale of natural foods […]
Microsoft Corporation (MSFT), operates a technology company, develops, licenses, and supports software products, services, and devices worldwide. MSFT’s annual meeting is coming up on November 30, 2016. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of 3 fund families when I checked. Vote AGAINST pay, pay committee, stock plan. Vote FOR all other proxy items, especially my proposed amendments to proxy access […]
Reed’s Inc. (REED), develops, manufactures, markets and sells fantastic natural non-alcoholic carbonated soft drinks and other confectionaries, such as Reed’s Ginger Brews; Virgil’s Root Beer, Cream Sodas, Dr. Better and Real Cola, including ZERO diet sodas; Culture Club Kombucha; China Colas; Reed’s Ginger candy and ice creams, and Sonoma Sparkler and other juice based products. Their […]
Clorox Company (CLX), operates through four segments: Cleaning – laundry, home care and professional products. Household – charcoal, cat litter and plastic bags, wraps and container products. Lifestyle – food products, water-filtration systems and filters, and natural personal care products. International many of the same consumer brands. Their annual meeting is coming up on November 16, 2016. ProxyDemocracy.org had […]
3D Moves to Equilar. The California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) today announced the Diverse Director DataSource (3D) will now be available through the Equilar Diversity Network. The new partnership marks an exciting milestone for the 3D, a database the two pension funds jointly developed in 2011. 3D […]
FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX) provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. Their annual meeting is coming up on September 26, 2016. Last day to vote is the 25th, unless you attend the meeting. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two fund families when I checked. Vote AGAINST pay, compensation committee; FOR all shareholder […]
CEO Pay Ratios: Mandated Reporting Approaches Starting fiscal years beginning in January, companies must disclose CEO pay ratios to the median compensation of their employees. Companies have flexibility with regard to sampling and other methodologies, according to how the SEC has interpreted the Dodd-Frank Act. In preparation, PayScale and Equilar surveyed employee sentiment on CEO pay […]
Ocata Therapeutics Inc (NASD:OCAT), formerly Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. is a promising biotechnology company engaged in the development and commercialization of human pluripotent stem cell technology in the field of regenerative medicine. The company is one of the stocks in my portfolio, purchased about a year ago. Their next annual meeting is July 22, 2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had nothing on the company […]
Berry Plastics Group Inc. (BERY), which manufactures and distributes plastic consumer packaging and engineered materials in North America and internationally, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 3/4/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had the votes of only one fund when I checked and voted on 3/1/2015. However, I was able to find the votes […]
Guidewire Software Inc ($GWRE), which provides software products for property and casualty insurers, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/4/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 12/1/2014. Sorry for the late post. Tomorrow is the last day to vote online. I voted […]
Microsoft Corporation ($MSFT), which develops, licenses, markets, and supports software, services, and devices worldwide, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/3/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of six funds when I checked and voted on 11/30/2014. Sorry for the late post. Tomorrow is the last day to vote online. I […]
Total shareholder return (TSR), is the most frequent metric used to pay CEOs for performance. The authors of this excellent study from IRRCi believe CEO pay should, instead, be linked to the cost and future value of capital. CEO Pay for ‘Performance” In 1993, Congress amended the tax code to tie executive pay to “performance” […]
Medivation $MDVN, a promising biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapies to treat serious diseases, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their next annual meeting is June 27, 2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of one fund when I checked and voted on 6/17/2014. I voted with the Board’s recommendations 91% of the time and assigned them a proxy score […]
Apple Inc. (NASD:AAPL) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 2/28/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org was down for maintenance when I checked and voted on 2/19/2014, so no voting advice there. I checked a few other sources such as CalPERS, Florida SBA and OTPP but none had disclosed their votes on their sites as of yesterday. I voted […]
Costco Wholesale Corporation $COST is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 1/30/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I checked and voted on 1/19/2014 (They now show five). I voted with management 25% of the time. View Proxy Statement. (more…)
United Natural Foods, Inc. $UNFI is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/18/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I checked and voted on 12/11/2013. I voted with management 75% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank are […]
Ellie Mae Inc (ELLI) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/29/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of one fund when I checked on 5/19/2013. I voted with management 40% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank are voted in favor […]
Walgreens ($WAG) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 1/9/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I voted on 1/1/2012. I voted with management only 24% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank will be voted in […]
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. ($BR) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 11/15/2012. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I voted on 11/8/2012. I voted with management 50% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank will be […]
Hain Celestial Group ($HAIN) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 11/15/2012. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of two funds when I voted on 11/8/2012. I voted with management 8% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank will be […]
Cisco ($CSCO) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 11/15/2012. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of five funds when I voted on 11/8/2012. I voted with management 83% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank will be […]
With the passage of the Dodd-Frank and the Sarbanes Oxley Acts, clawback policies have become increasingly prevalent among public companies. However, it is rare to find a company actually put a clawback policy into effect. Citing Equilar’s findings from the 2012 Clawback Policies Report, we review what a clawback policy is and we examine what […]
In say-on-pay’s second year, recommendations from proxy advisors have grown in significance for public companies. This week’s Behind The Numbers, from Equilar takes a look at firms that faced daunting negative recommendations by proxy advisors in 2012 and examines what those companies did to defend their pay practices. (more…)
Equilar anchor Bonnie Day compares male and female compensation at the top, with key findings from the 2012 S&P 500 CEO (more…)
BNN’s The Street is delivering an in-depth look at the growing number of shareholder uprisings. Activist investors are speaking out out at CP Rail, Yahoo, Astral Media and elsewhere. And, they’re not just taking on management. They’re winning their battles too. Click here for more. (more…)