Gary Gensler, a former financial regulator, and Goldman Sachs banker, now at MIT, is rumored Biden’s choice to head the SEC. As head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), he helped uncover interest-rate rigging on Libor, which underpins $300T in loans. Banks had to cough up $9B in fines. He pushed for transparency around derivative trading and […]
GPW (Global Proxy Watch) discussed selected comments from investors to the SEC concerning two proposed rules in an article entitled Blowback, reproduced below with permission. GPW normally runs two pages, summarzing weekly developments on governance and stewardship from Stephen Davis and Aaron Bernstein. Blowback took almost a page. (more…)
File No. S7-22-19, SEC proposed rules based on input from entrenched corporate managers and boards, would cripple proxy advisory services. File No. S7-22-19 would not protect investors, as is the mission of the SEC. Proxy advisors survey their customers each year asking them how they stand on various issues. Then they research thousands of proxies on […]
SEC Release File No. S7-23-19 comments are due today. This Release and that of File No. S7-22-19 are the most dangerous I have seen during my twenty-five years of blogging. Both would make corporations less accountable to their owners and the public. Both would help turn corporate governance into a more democratic-free zone. Thousands of comments opposing […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced the agenda for the September 13th meeting of its Investor Advisory Committee (SEC-IAC). The meeting will begin at 9:00 a.m. in the Multipurpose Room at SEC headquarters at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C., and is open to the public. The meeting will be webcast live and archived on the committee’s website for later […]
I’m delighted to see “Discussion of Proxy Access” (11:05-12:05 p.m.) as one of the items on the agenda for the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee (SEC-IAC) at the upcoming February 12th meeting. I discuss two recommendations below. Take Action: Please submit your own and paste into comments below. See comments submitted. Proxy Access: Rule 14a-11 In light […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission is seeking comment on a recommendation by its Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) regarding disclosure by target date mutual funds. Additionally, the IAC has announced an agenda for their next meeting on April 10th beginning at 10:00 a.m. (EST), which includes remarks from Commissioners, the new Investor Advocate and a recommendation from […]
The Dodd-Frank act created a new permanent Investor Advisory Committee (SEC-IAC) to consult with and advise the SEC on matters, such as making recommendations to Congress for legislative changes on the regulation of securities products, trading strategies and fee structures, the effectiveness of disclosures, and other investor protection initiatives. The IAC is comprised of the […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission Investor Advisory Committee (SEC-IAC), established pursuant to Section 911 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, will hold a public meeting on Friday, January 31, 2014, in Multi-Purpose Room LL-006 at SEC headquarters, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The meeting will begin at […]
Is SEC Rule 14a-8(i)(9) fair? Should the SEC amend the rule? What’s your opinion? I think the rule is problematic and needs changing. In this post I explain why, using my proposal at Disney (DIS) to allow shareowners to call a special meeting as an example. Here’s the text of the SEC rule: (more…)
Years ago, the DC Court’s decision to vacate the SEC’s Rule 14a-11 had me thinking of possible approaches under Rule 14a-8 but also working around the whole access issue. With regard to short slates, I wavered between “field agents” attending annual meetings with “proxy assignments” to allow more wide-spread vote splitting to consideration of amendments […]
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 […]
Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference discusses the “Broken Window theory. If a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one is in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and a sense of anarchy will spread. In […]
The Dodd-Frank Act established the Investor Advisory Committee (IAC) to advise the Securities and Exchange Commission on regulatory priorities, the regulation of securities products, trading strategies, fee structures, the effectiveness of disclosure, and on initiatives to protect investor interests and to promote investor confidence and the integrity of the securities marketplace. The IAC met for […]
The Securities and Exchange Commission finally announced the formation of its new Investor Advisory Committee required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. (more…)
When I started posting in 1995 I could come home from work, do a quick search on Alta Vista (before google) and read everything posted on corporate governance in a few minutes. Now searching “corporate governance” brings up 34 million results and 200 “personal results,” which looks like posts from people in my google+ circle. […]
Remarks by Dan Ariely, author of The Upside of Irrationality: The Unexpected Benefits of Defying Logic at Work and at Home, at the SEC Investor Advisory Committee (May 17, 2010, morning session) are well worth watching. Just a few cryptic observations to whet your appetite. Duration doesn’t matter as much as intensity. High pain that […]