The SEC this week weighed into the proxy advisor debate with Staff Legal Bulletin 20, which provides information on the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers (i.e. professional investors) as well as clarification on the exemptions from federal regulation which apply to proxy advisory firms. (more…)
Guest Post: Miguel Carrasco – Managing Director and proxy solicitation consultant at Proxycensus Ltd specializing in issues relating to information transmittal, social media technology in IR and the technicalities of the cross border voting process. He is also a member of the ICGN, ECGI, CoF and the Investor Relations Society. (more…)
FT.com reported, contrary to many perceptions, that investors in the UK’s largest companies often ignored the guidance of proxy advisers when voting on pay issues. After votes at WPP, Xstrata and Prudential, some company executives complained that advisers carried too much influence. (Investors not tied to proxy advisers, 8/26/2012) (more…)
CalPERS is considering a policy of not investing in the initial public offerings (IPOs) of dual-class companies where shareowning is structured so that a minority will control the majority of the votes. From what I have seen, CalPERS has already opposed those that exist but this step would allow the retirement system to avoid purchasing shares […]
My wife, Myra Young, submitted a proxy proposal to Costco aimed at establishing a new and innovative way for shareowners to obtain proxy voting advice. The proposal would set up a contest, pay for proxy advice out of entry fees and corporate funds, and would then share the advice of four winners with all Costco shareowners. […]
UK-based proxy voting and research firm Manifest Information Services, which numbers the Swedish AP buffer funds among its clients, is planning to enter US market. Manifest, whose US partner Proxy Governance International (PGI) withdrew from the market late last year, will begin marketing in the US shortly, said Chief Executive Sarah Wilson. Manifest’s move comes […]
June 17, 2010 to Jarrettpublic@who.eop.gov Good morning Ms Jarrett; My name is Sarah Wilson, I am CEO of Manifest, a European proxy voting agency based in the United Kingdom. We act on behalf of a range of international investors ranging in size from small public pension funds to major European Sovereign Wealth Funds, in total […]
SEC Rule 14a-4(a)(3) states the proxy “shall identify clearly and impartially each separate matter intended to be acted upon, whether or not related to or conditioned on the approval of other matters, and whether proposed by the registrant or by security holders.” Broadridge claims they don’t have to follow the rules required for proxies because […]
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., trying to show it is responsive to public pressure over its pay, said Chairman and Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein would get a $9 million bonus for 2009, a fraction of the $68.5 million payout he got in 2007. (Goldman Bows on CEO Pay, WSJ, 2/6/10) My heart bleeds for him but […]