Testimony to CalPERS 3/13/2023, Investment Committee Item 6b, by Jim McRitchie, a retired member. Note: Actual testimony was limited to 3-4 minutes. This version is slightly longer and includes links. (more…)
Tag Archives | McRitchie
Biogen 2021 Proxy: Lobbying
Biogen 2021 annual meeting is June 2, 6 AM Pacific Time. To attend, vote, and submit questions during the Annual Meeting visit here. You will need your 16-digit control number. I recommend voting in advance. Enhance long-term value. Vote AGAINST Auditor, Pay, all directors except Mantas. Vote For: Forum Selection, Reports on Lobbying, Gender Pay Gap. […]
Charles Schwab 2021 Proxy
Charles Schwab 2021 annual meeting is May 13, 11:30 AM Pacific Time. To attend, vote, and submit questions during the Annual Meeting visit here. You must register in advance to attend and vote at the meeting. What could go wrong? (sarcasm) Of course, I recommend voting in advance. To enhance long-term value. Vote AGAINST Bettinger, […]
American Tower 2020 Political Contributions & Spcial Meetings
American Tower 2020 virtual annual meeting is 5/18/2020 at 9AM Pacific. I am not sure if shareholders will be able to vote online during the meeting. To enhance long-term value: Vote AGAINST Dolan, Sharbutt, Auditor and Executive Pay. Vote FOR Political Contributions Report, Special Meetings. See list of all virtual-only meetings maintained by ISS. (more…)
The Rhetoric and Reality of Shareholder Democracy
The Rhetoric and Reality of Shareholder Democracy was submitted by Jang-Sup Shin for publication in response to my post Predatory Value Extraction, a review of the book of that title by Professors Shin and Lazonick. Comments on The Rhetoric and Reality of Shareholder Democracy are invited in the box below. (more…)
SEC Release Comments Due Today
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 […]
File No. S7-23-19 by the Questions
File No. S7-23-19 would set draconian requirements to submit and to resubmit shareholder proposals based on the desire of entrenched managements and boards to thwart accountability and to create democratic-free zones around corporate governance.
The Costs and Benefits of Shareholder Democracy
The Costs and Benefits of Shareholder Democracy (download from SSRN) by Nickolay Gantchev and Mariassunta Giannetti was referenced several times in the SEC’s proposed rulemaking to “modernize” the shareholder proposal process by making corporations more of democratic-free. The research was also referenced by two SEC Commissioners at the meeting when the proposal was initially voted […]
Modernization of Shareholder Proposal Rules
Modernization of Shareholder Proposal Rules Protect Entrenched Boards The SEC’s so-called modernization of shareholder proposal rules would significantly reduce the spread of long-term focus and best practices generated by proposals submitted by “gadflies” like myself to make corporations more democratic. Chairman Clayton seems to believe we file unpopular costly proposals. (more…)
Costco ESG Momentum: Right to Remove Directors
Costco ESG momentum has improved. I submitted a shareholder proposal to help keep it on that path. The proposal would eliminate a corporate governance anomaly Costco has by virtue of being incorporated in the state of Washington, which allows articles of incorporation to provide that directors cannot be removed without cause by shareholders. (more…)
My Letter to Business Roundtable on Shareholder Resolutions
My letter to Business Roundtable (BRT) on shareholder resolutions is reprinted below. There has been no response so far. If their pledge to stakeholders was really in earnest, maybe they will now be more open to negotiation on ESG issues than they were when we testified to the SEC at cross purposes. The BRT has […]
McRitchie 2019 Proxy Season Win for Market Beta
McRitchie 2019 proxy season results are not something I normally report. It feels too much like bragging. I do my work to drive better, more accountable corporate governance. However, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance is “considering recommending that the Commission propose rule amendments regarding the thresholds for shareholder proposals under Rule 14a-8.” It is […]
Frozen Charters: Major CorpGov Issue
Thanks to Scott Hirst‘s articles and papers on the subject, I can borrow his catchy label for one of biggest current problems in corporate governance. Frozen charters are supermajority provisions that are impossible to repeal. He appears to attribute that to the 2012 change by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which changed its policies […]
Small Shareholders Critical to Democracy
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 […]
Chevedden Group Proxy Proposals
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 […]
SEC Shareholder Proposal Panel – Take Action!
The November 15 SEC Roundtable on the Proxy Process will include me on the SEC Shareholder Proposal Panel. Public announcement with instructions for submitting comments. I will only have a few minutes at the Roundtable. What should I emphasize? Where should I stay in DC? Take Action: Readers of CorpGov.net know far more than I do. Please email your suggestions […]
Early Partial Victory at Clorox
We have an early partial victory at Clorox (CLX). Real victory at Clorox will depend on getting out the vote. Yes, that is the same as what is required for government elections in November if we want change. The Clorox meeting is also expected in November. High voter turnout is required at Clorox because we […]
Transparent Political Spending: Ford Lost No-Action
The Ford Motor Company ($F) challenged my resolution on Transparent Political Spending and lost. I created a new posting category, “SEC no-action letters.” Posts under this category will include what I believe are precedent setting decisions. By including them on CorpGov.net I will be creating a searchable database going forward of significant decisions for ready […]
Investor Response to Chamber: Don’t Gut Rights
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. […]
Broadridge Amends Proxy Access: Allows 50
Have you heard the news? Broadridge amends proxy access bylaws on July 6, 2017, to do the following: Increase the number of stockholders that can aggregate their shares to make a proxy access Board nomination from 20 to 50 stockholders, Eliminate a requirement to count individual funds within a mutual fund family as separate shareholders […]
Salesforce.com Proxy Voting Guide
Salesforce.com, inc. develops enterprise cloud computing solutions with a focus on customer relationship management. Salesforce.com, inc. (CRM) 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 June 6, 2017 I voted FOR #7 the ability of shareholders to call […]
Business Roundtable to SEC: Muzzle Shareholders
As 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 […]
McRitchie Interview by Rafat: Whole Foods
McRitchie Interview by Rafat McRitchie interview by Rafat. At last week’s meeting of Whole Foods Market shareholders, I met with Matthew (Mateo) Rafat, whom I’d known of because of his series of posts at Seeking Alpha. He was the only one reporting what happened at shareholder meetings. This was the first time we had met […]
Have Shareholder Rights Gone Too Far?
TK Kerstetter of Boardroom Resources, LLC, interviews James McRitchie, Publisher of CorpGov.net and Shareholder Advocate. I’ve pasted TK’s intro and video from Inside America’s Boardrooms below, followed by some additional comments. I hope you enjoy the show. (more…)
Google Inc.: Proxy Score 39
Google Inc. (GOOG), a technology company that builds products and provides services to organize the information, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 6/3/2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had the vote of one fund when I checked and voted on 5/28/2015. I voted with management 39% of the time and assigned Google Inc. a proxy score […]
Union Pacific Corporation: Proxy Score 50
Union 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 […]
Is the Battle for Proxy Access Over?
The Status of Proxy Access 2015: “Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” – Winston Churchill This post is in response to a LinkedIn piece by Anthony Goodman of Tapestry Networks regarding the status of proxy access post […]
Starbucks Corporation (SBUX): Proxy Score 81
Starbucks Corporation $SBUX, which operates as a roaster, marketer, and retailer of specialty coffee worldwide, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 3/18/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had the votes of four funds (now more) when I checked and voted on 3/8/2015. I voted with management 81% of the time and assigned Starbucks a […]
The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Proxy Score 79
The Walt Disney Company $DIS, which operates as a worldwide entertainment company, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 3/12/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had the votes of four funds when I checked and voted on 3/8/2015. I voted with management 79% of the time and assigned them a proxy score of 79. View Proxy […]
Citigroup Endorses Proxy Access Proposal
Citigroup (C) and shareowner activist James McRitchie, who publishes the popular website CorpGov.net, reached an agreement this week on a proxy access proposal that would allow shareowners to place their nominees directly on the corporate proxy. (more…)
CalPERS Sets Bad Example Regarding Dissent by Directors
Public dissent by directors should be encouraged, not penalized. If we don’t learn where directors stand on the issues and how they differ from each other, how do we know who to vote for? Two actions by CalPERS fifteen years apart are instructive. (more…)
Omnicom (OMC) Group Loses to Chevedden: Shareowner Rights Preserved
In 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. […]
Quick Bites on CorpGov
Don’t miss the following great reads: Eleanor Bloxham, CEO of The Value Alliance 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 […]
Take Action: Proxy Advisory Services Roundtable Seeks Comments
On November 27, 2013 the SEC Announced the agenda and panelists for their 12/5/2013 Roundtable On Proxy Advisory Services. In the first session, participants will discuss, among other topics, the current use of proxy advisory services, including the factors that may have contributed to their use, the purposes and effects of using the services, and […]
How I Voted: Kansas City Southern (KSU) – Vote Score 86%
Kansas City Southern ($KSU) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/2/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three funds when I checked on 4/26/2013. I also checked OTPP, which voted the same as CalSTRS and Calvert. I voted with management 86% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each […]