Corporate Governance Risks at Tesla: Corporate Governance Risks at Tesla, a notable post yesterday from AInvest Fintech Inc. I think I corrected their AI-generated cartoon. Here’s my summary and thoughts, including how I voted at Tesla. (more…)
Tag Archives | proxy
Procter & Gamble 2023: Our Proxy Votes
Procter & Gamble 2023. Our proposal for Fair Elections is just one of several issues to be voted on before or during the Procter & Gamble (PG ) annual meeting on October 10, 2023, at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. Attend the annual meeting online. I always recommend that you vote in advance. However, you will also […]
ICCR Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide
ICCR Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide now includes all proposals filed so far for the 2022 season by Corporate Governance. I could not be more delighted, since this is the group that is most responsible for inspiring my own work! ICCR has published its Guide every year since 1974. The 2022 Guide discusses 436 resolutions filed by […]
Alphabet 2021 Proxy: Convert to PBC
Alphabet 2021 annual meeting is June 2, 9 AM Pacific Time. To attend, vote, and submit questions during the Annual Meeting visit here. You must have your 16 digit control number. I recommend voting in advance. To enhance long-term value. Vote AGAINST Doerr, Ferguson, Hennessy, Mather, Shriram, Washington, Auditor, Stock Plan, #9. Vote FOR all […]
Reeds Renominates Zombie Director Muffoletto
A majority of shares voted to turn them out of office, off the island, you’re fired… but unaccountable boards frequently reappoint a zombie director. Reeds Inc. (REED) flaunts the will of shareholders in renominating Daniel S.J. Muffoletto. According to the Council of Institutional Investors: The vast majority of zombies are legally elected due to an […]
Resolution: Report Public Policy on Climate Change
Recently, with the revelations about Exxon’s past support for climate denial organizations hitting the news, there has been a fresh interest in the ways oil companies have used their lobbying and contributions to oppose climate change solutions. For example most oil companies are members of the Chamber and American Petroleum Association, which recently sued the EPA […]
ISS Proxy Voting Survey Due Friday at 5:00 pm ET
Attention everyone who thinks ISS has too much say over how proxies are voted. It might be a good time for you to see how those policies are actually developed. No, ISS doesn’t develop its policies by reviewing all the academic research to determine which types of proxy proposals create value or are correlated with […]
Boardroom Insider: Aren’t Boards Supposed to Work That Way?
Those of us involved in corporate governance issues for a living enjoy talking shop with others in the field. One reason, I suspect, it that it’s so damned difficult to explain corporate governance norms to people on the outside. “You mean CEOs pretty well select the very board members who set those CEOs’ pay and […]
Who Says Activist Investors Have Struck Out?
The passing US proxy season made lots of business headlines as the most turbulent ever (which I’ve found happens every year). But 2015 was still notable for the flood of activist initiatives targeting company boards of directors. Activists sought “no” votes on directors who set executive pay, or said no to stock buyback, dividend, or […]
ITC Holdings: Proxy Score 43
ITC Holdings Corp. (NYSE:ITC), one of the stocks in my portfolio, is an online and technology-enabled quick-turn manufacturer of custom parts for prototyping and short-run production. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/20/2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had the votes of one fund when I checked and voted on 5/13/2015. I voted with management 43% of the time and assigned ITC Holdings a proxy […]
JPMorgan Chase (JPM): Proxy Voting Recommendations
I don’t hold shares of JPMorgan Chase (JPM) in my portfolio but the shareholder proposals that will be voted this year deal with crucial issues that will come up at many other companies this proxy season. I received the following letter from shareholders urging readers to vote for a proposal requesting a report on lobbying at JPMorgan Chase […]
Corporate Governance In India
What is corporate governance? It is a process set up for the firms based on certain systems and principles by which a company is governed. The guidelines provided ensure that the company is directed and controlled in a way so as to achieve the goals and objectives to add value to the company and also […]
General Electric Company (GE): Proxy Score 57
General Electric Company (GE), which operates as an infrastructure and financial services company worldwide, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 4/22/2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had the vote of two funds when I checked and voted on 4/15/2015. I voted with management 57% of the time and assigned General Electric a proxy score […]
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Proxy Score 44
Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), which researches, develops, manufactures, and sells various products in the health care field worldwide, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 4/23/2015. ProxyDemocracy.org had the vote of three funds when I checked and voted on 4/17/2015. I voted with management 44% of the time and assigned Johnson […]
Harrington Wins Proxy Access at Bank of America
Bank of America (BAC) shareholders can now look forward to nominating candidates to the Board of Directors in a deal negotiated by John Harrington, CEO of Harrington Investments, Inc., (HII) a socially responsible investment advisory firm based in Napa. The Bank adopted new “proxy access” bylaws reflecting changes driven by Harrington’s shareholder resolution. (more…)
Simple Majority Vote Counting Initiative for Proxies
This guest post from Bruce Herbert of Investor Voice provides an overview of a simple majority vote counting shareholder initiative, which seeks to eliminate abstentions from the denominator in calculating votes as well as super majority threshold requirements that have not been approved by shareholders. “Fair corporate suffrage is an important right that should attach to every equity security bought […]
Walt Disney: Last Chance to Vote
The Walt Disney Company $DIS will hold their annual meeting tomorrow (3/12/2014). Today is the last day to vote unless you attend the meeting. My voting recommendations are at The Walt Disney Company (DIS): Proxy Score 79. Since that post a few additional funds have voted and there has been further debate: (more…)
Apple Inc. (APPL): Proxy Score 83
Update: ISS recommends its clients vote in support of proxy access, calling the proposed eligibility requirements of my proposal at Apple robust, while safeguarding against abuses in the nominating process. Glass Lewis opposes the proposal because “given the company’s… positive financial performance, we do not believe that adoption of this proposal is necessary at this time.” […]
Corporate Governance Analyst: Job Opening
I saw this job opening for a corporate governance analyst at TIAA-Cref and thought I should post it, since I would apply for it myself if I were a few decades younger. Please let me know if you see it here and end up getting the job. That would be amazing! Job ID: v1702132 Job […]
United Natural Foods (UNFI) – Proxy Score 82
United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) , which distributes and retails natural, organic, and specialty foods, as well as non-food products primarily in the United States and Canada, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/17/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org was down when I checked and voted on 12/14/2014. I hope they are able to obtain […]
Reed’s, Inc. (REED) – Proxy Score 43
Reed’s, Inc. (REED), which develops, manufactures, markets, and sells natural non-alcoholic carbonated soft drinks, kombucha, candies, and ice creams, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 12/12/2014. Reed’s is still too small to be covered by ProxyDemocracy.org. I voted with management 43% of the time and assigned them a […]
Cisco Systems – Proxy Vote Score 37
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASD:CSCO), which designs, manufactures, and sells Internet Protocol (IP) based networking products and services related to the communications and information technology industry worldwide, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 11/20/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of four funds when I checked on 11/18/2014. Sorry for the late post. […]
CSP Inc. (CSPI): Draft Proxy Access Proposal – Comments Invited
In February, I reported that prospects were looking up at nano-cap CSP, Inc. (CSPI), one of the companies in my portfolio. See CSP Inc. (CSPI): How I Voted – Proxy Score 100. CSPI completed a number of reforms, including declassifying the Board. In addition, CSPI started paying a dividend and adopted a mandatory retirement age of 75 for […]
California’s Savings Plus: Better Proxy Voting Disclosure Needed Part II
This is the second of a two part series. Part I discussed proxy voting at Savings Plus, as compared with at CalPERS. CalHR’s Current RFP for Savings Plus CalHR recently released a Request for Proposal (RFP 700-14-01) seeking bids for investment management services for Savings Plus. Unfortunately, the RFP fails to require Savings Plus participants be informed […]
California’s Savings Plus: Better Proxy Voting Disclosure Needed, Part I
Most California State employees and retirees have their retirement funds invested largely through two vehicles. CalPERS is the nation’s largest public pension, with almost $300B in assets. Many employees also have smaller amounts invested in CalHR‘s Savings Plus program, with assets of $10B. Both vehicles invest a large proportion of their funds in corporate […]
Marriott (MAR): How I Voted – Proxy Score 60
Marriott International $MAR, is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 5/9/2014. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of one fund when I checked and voted on 5/5/2014. I voted with management 60% of the time. View Proxy Statement. (more…)
Apple Inc. (AAPL): How I Voted – Proxy Score 89
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 […]
Proxy Access is Needed at Apple
Despite the Apple Board’s best effort to obtain a “no-action” letter to exclude my proxy access proposal, it is included among the items to be voted on at or before the annual meeting to be held on February 28 at our Company’s principal executive offices in Cupertino, CA. See Apple’s proxy, Proxy Proposal 11, ‘Proxy Access for […]
Last Opportunity to Vote for Proxy Access at Reeds Inc. (REED)
Reeds, Inc $REED; you read the Proxy, the crazy Preliminary Proxy, and the rationale for proxy access. You’ve seen the movie, where I explained the need for proxy access Now, don’t forget to vote! The annual meeting is December 20, 2013. According to ProxyVote.com, Internet voting is accepted up to 11:59 p.m. (ET) the day before the meeting/cut off date. That’s […]
Reeds Inc. (REED): The Case for Proxy Access & How I Voted
In mid-July I e-mailed investor relations at Reeds Inc. $REED (IR@reedsinc.com) asking if REED had a classified board or plurality requirements for director elections. Can shareowners call a special meeting or act by written consent? What supermajority requirements are in place re M&A or other actions? No response. This surprised and disappointed me since they were prompt […]
Cisco Systems (CSCO): How I Voted – Proxy Score 56
Cisco Systems, Inc. $CSCO is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is next week on Tuesday, 11/13/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of 2 funds when I checked on 11/13/2013 (there have been more since). I voted with management 56% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any […]
India Proxy Season 2013 Analysis From InGovern
A recent report by InGovern Research Services analyzes patterns in the resolutions proposed by Indian listed companies in the just concluded 2013 proxy voting season. The data has been collated and analyzed from a coverage universe of 585 companies forming part of the S&P 500 and BSE 500 indices, which represent over 95% of the market […]
Procter and Gamble (PG): How I Voted – Proxy Score 60
Procter and Gamble $PG is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 10/8/2013. ProxyDemocracy.org had collected the votes of three funds when I checked on 10/1/2013. I voted with management 60% of the time. View Proxy Statement. Warning: Be sure to vote each item on the proxy. Any items left blank are voted in […]
Biased Ballots: Oshkosh Vote Questioned – Take Action
I found another case of corporate elections where ballot measures failed to be identified “clearly and impartially.” This time at Oshkosh ($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 […]
Broken Windows & Proxy Vote Rigging – Both Invite More Serious Crime
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 […]