CII 2023 Fall Conference. I hope to see many of you there. I’m excited about the theme, “Next Frontiers in Governance.” CII offers unprecedented opportunities to network, share best practices, and learn from others. The CII 2023 Fall Conference will be in-person only. Register for the conference in Long Beach, California. In preparing to meet […]
Mutual fund wars are fierce around pricing. What if competition was also fierce around proxy voting? Could that change the world? I certainly think so. My petition to the SEC could generate mutual fund wars around ensuring proxy votes align with investor values. (Rulemaking Petition for Real-Time Disclosure of Proxy Votes, SEC File 4-748, Jul. […]
American values were recognized as at risk in 1932 when Adolf Berle and Gardiner Means argued that with dispersed shareholders, ownership has been separated from their control. (The Modern Corporation and Private Property) Ironically, concentration of equities under the umbrella of three or four indexed funds presents an opportunity to end that divide and make companies […]
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 […]
At the recent #AllInForImpact SRI Conference – on Sustainable, Responsible, Impact Investing I presented a “Topic Table.” These are informal gatherings of up to 10 people during lunch. Topics are submitted prior to the conference by any registrant who wishes to lead a discussion on an issue related to sustainable, responsible, impact investing. Mine was on […]
In part 2 of a post on facilitating votes and activism by retail shareowners I continue to speculate on what could be done to improve the situation by recalling some of the better features of major efforts to date and possible improvements that would help conscientious shareowners. As Mark Latham reminded me after yesterday’s part 1, […]
Retail shareowners own about 1/3 of shares traded in the United States but vote only about 1/3 of the shares we own. As Nell Minow once quipped, “you can lead a shareholder to a lot of dense material, but you can’t make them read it.” (Video Friday: SEC Proxy Voting Roundtable) Our voting influence is much smaller […]
The last set of questions for panel at the 2/19 SEC Roundtable deal with client directed voting (CDV). Below are a few thoughts with the help of readers. I welcome further comments. The SEC agenda and questions are in bold italics. Our thoughts are in normal type. Part 1 is here. This panel will focus on […]
Yesterday, I posted a recent letter to the editor of Pensions & Investments praising their editorial, Winning Over Proxy Voters, which argues that institutional investors have a fiduciary duty to announce their proxy votes in advance of annual meetings, if doing so is likely to influence voters. If institutional investors heed their call, it will speed […]
Thanks to Broc Romanek I learned of what he termed the Wildest Idea of the Year? Creating a “Vote Buying” Framework, July 29, 2013. Here’s part of his take: Two Professors from the U. of Chicago – Eric Posner and Glen Weyl – have used their economic backgrounds as a way to devise a solution to shareholders […]
Viewing the venture as a tragedy because it is folding is like saying Neil Armstrong was a failure because he left the moon and came back to Earth. Just as the Blue Marble photograph of Earth helped us see our world in a new light, Moxy Vote helped us see corporations differently. This gang of explorers blazed a […]
Schlumberger (SLB) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 4/11/2012 in Curacao, frequently referred to as “one of the Caribbean’s best-kept secrets,” and not easy to get to from (more…)
Yes, corporate governance takes on more importance since the decision. Corporations could easily control our elections. ExxonMobil spent $45 million lobbying at the federal level during the 2007-2008 election cycle. Jamin Raskin, Professor of Constitutional Law at American University and a Maryland State Senator, says if they spent 10% of their 2008 profits, or $8.5 […]
Most affluent retirees want more than just investment management from their adviser, according to a survey released by Sallie Krawcheck’s wealth management group at Bank of America Corp. (Well-off retirees: We sought financial advice too late, Investment News, 1/14/10) According to Ms. Krawcheck, this is an opportunity for financial advisors, “what we’re learning is that […]
TheCorporateCouncil.net posted a transcript of a recent Webcast on the SEC’s new Proxy Disclosure requirement. Like always, they do an excellent job of sorting out issues for those getting into the weeds. RMG reports “The wave of new federal securities lawsuits related to the global credit crisis has finally subsided, down 7-24% depending on whose data […]
MoxyVote.com launched on November 20, 2009 in Beta and has already attracted considerable attention. Philly.com jumped right in with West Chester’s Moxy Vote boosts rebel shareholders on opening day. Cari Tuna did something a little more substantial with her Proxy-Voting Advocates Pool Resources on the Web (WSJ/11/23/09). Of the systems utilizing the internet to increase […]