LGBTQ CorVel (CRVL) workplace equality advocates celebrate a significant victory in the midst of a historic Pride month representing the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Shareholders will have a voice on CorVel’s EEO policy. (more…)
Tag Archives | Walden
Morningstar Direct Uncovers ESG Hypocrites
Morningstar Direct is planning to offer its clients important voting data. The firm recently published a preview of what I impolitely term ESG hypocrites – funds that advertise themselves as allowing us to invest in our values but then vote proxies against our values. For example, last week, students around the world participated in a massive […]
Corporate Lobbying Disclosure Proposals 2019
Corporate lobbying disclosure remains a pressing shareholder proposal topic for 2019. A coalition of at least 70 investors have filed proposals at 33 companies asking for disclosure reports that include federal and state lobbying payments, payments to trade associations and social welfare groups used for lobbying and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and […]
NAM: Stop Supporting ‘Main Street Investors’ Coalition Say Real Investors
NAM Board Targeted Investors led by Walden Asset Management, New York Common and the California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) called on 45 companies sitting on the Executive Committee and Board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) to end the trade association’s attacks on shareholders. The investors’ letter asks the companies to distance themselves […]
Main Street Investors: Battle Coming
The battle over Main Street Investors could determine the future of the American economy for decades to come. According to Cydney Posner of Cooley PubCo, on one side are those who believe investors must focus on maximizing financial return and management knows best. On the other side are those who want to broaden the focus […]
Shareholder Collaboration
Shareholder Collaboration is a new ECGI working paper by Jill Fisch and Simone M. Sepe. Fisch is one of my favorite researchers, being insightful and less predictable than many of those in the primary academic hubs of corporate governance (Harvard, Stanford, and Delaware). In Shareholder Collaboration, the authors discuss the growing importance of a collaborative […]
Alphabet 2018: End Oligarchy
Alphabet 2018 proxy recommendations. Alphabet is run by an Oligarchy. Will $GOOG overlords give up their position as a dictatorship? Are companies governed by dictatorships and oligarchies healthy for democratic governments? Shareholders can vote for change. Alphabet Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides online advertising services in the United States and internationally. Most shareholders do not vote […]
Conoco Virtual Only Meetings Targeted
Conoco’s virtual only annual meeting is the target of a shareholder proposal by the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia. A similar proposal was filed at Comcast. The Conoco resolution has already been cofiled by the Church of the Brethren Benefit Trust and the Needmor Fund, a Walden client. As responsible shareholders, we believe good corporate governance […]
Walden Withdraws Vanguard Proxy Voting Shareholder Resolution
Walden Asset Management has engaged a number of investment managers and mutual funds on their proxy voting practices, specifically challenging voting records on shareholder resolutions addressing significant social and environmental issues. I see this as a major victory. However, more Vanguard shareholders need to speak out to ensure momentum continues. Contact Vanguard. In 2017, Walden filed […]
Climate Risk – Walden Moves BlackRock
Walden Moves BlackRock: Background A number of investors, led by Walden moves BlackRock on climate Risk. Walden Asset Management and the Center for Community Change, along with the City of Seattle Employees’ Retirement System and First Affirmative Financial Network, filed a shareholder resolution requesting a review of BlackRock’s proxy voting process and record on climate […]
Vanguard: Review Climate Change Voting
Walden seeks co-filers for resolutions asking Vanguard to review and report on its proxy voting policies and practices related to climate change. It is rare when investors file a resolution with a mutual fund since most funds don’t hold regular annual meetings. Nonetheless the act of filing puts the fund on notice that participants are […]
Tim Smith Honored by ICCR
On September 29, 2016 Tim Smith, Walden Asset Management’s director of ESG Shareowner Engagement, will be honored at the annual event of the Interfaith Center for Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) for his decades-long, indefatigable leadership shaping the landscape of shareholder advocacy for more just and environmentally sound business policies and practices. Tim is the first secular […]
Lobbying Disclosure: Companies Respond
Shareholders have been urging companies to fully disclose the lobbying they do directly and through trade associations and third parties for six years now. This year 66 investors joined in filing resolutions with 50 companies seeking expanded lobbying transparency. Twinned with calls for disclosure of political spending aimed at affecting elections, this effort has had a […]
Walden Wins ESG Reporting at CLARCOR
CLARCOR Inc. (CLC) hosted its Annual General Meeting on March 29, 2016. A shareholder proposal led by Walden Asset Management for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting received 61% support from shareholders, excluding abstentions. With this result, CLARCOR joins a small minority of companies to ever experience a majority vote in support of on an environmental […]
Investors to Oil: Disclose Climate Lobbying
Disclose Climate Lobbying: Resolutions Filed at Oil and Gas Companies Encouraged by the forward‐looking actions addressing climate change at the Paris Climate Conference (COP21) in December, investors have filed shareholder resolutions at 11 oil and gas companies asking them to disclose climate lobbying activities. The resolutions urge the companies to fully disclose their lobbying activities and […]
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 […]
Walden’s BNY Mellon Proposal Seeks Review of Proxy Voting Policies
Here’s one of the most interesting proxy proposals I have seen so far during this new season. I wasn’t aware of similar resolutions filed by Zevin until recently notified by Timothy Smith. If BNY Mellon is a PRI signatory, why are they consistently voting against what PRI stands for? Let’s see more proposals like this. […]
Déjà vu: Shareholder Rights Under Attack
The following on shareholder rights by Timothy Smith, Director of ESG Shareowner Engagement at Walden Asset Management, originally appeared in the Summer 2014 Edition of Walden’s Values Newsletter, which included the usual disclaimer at the bottom. I’ve added the links and have tacked on some additional reformatted comments from Timothy Smith regarding the role of individual investors in prompting reform. […]
Walden Seeks Review of Proxy Voting Policy at Oxy
The inveterate Timothy Smith, Director of Environmental Social and Governance Shareowner Engagement at Walden Asset Management recently wrote (download pdf) to Margaret (Peggy) Foran who chairs the Board Governance Committee at Occidental Petroleum Corporation (Oxy), asking them to review their vote counting bylaws and practices prior to their May 2nd AGM. (more…)
Medtronic: How I Voted
Medtronic (MDT) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on August 25. I voted yesterday using the MoxyVote.com platform. However, it is too late to do that today, so you’ll have to use ProxyVote.com. MoxyVote.com had recommendations from seven “good causes,” which included two consolidations. ProxyDemocracy.org had only two participating funds (more…)
Transocean: Now, the Rest of the Story
I get hundreds of e-mails every day and often delete before even glancing if I am especially busy. Fortunately, Timothy Smith of Walden Asset Management also sent out an e-mail on a post by Theo Francis, of footnoted*, that had already hit my trash. We’ve all heard about Transocean’s bonuses for “the best year in […]
Walden to Present Chamber Resolution on Floor of AGMs
Investors have been urging companies serving on the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (“the Board”) to reevaluate their role on the Board. They point to a significant disconnect between the companies’ public commitment to corporate responsibility and sustainability and the Chamber’s aggressive lobbying and political spending against issues ranging from climate change legislation […]
Responsible Investor: Walden's ShareOwner Proposals
Shareowners recognize that with more than 100 members the Chamber’s board is effectively ungovernable, leaving the door wide open for management. There are board committees on different issues, such as the environment, but committees do not govern, they recommend… A company’s obligation to its shareowners also goes beyond disclosure. Companies also have an obligation to […]
A Failure of Governance
Many leading companies strive to follow best practices in corporate governance, demonstrating responsiveness to investors and protecting shareowner value in the process. Paradoxically these same companies often appear to leave their commitment to good corporate governance at the doorstep when they serve on the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (the Chamber). In so […]
Resolutions Challenge Chamber Board Members on Political Expenditures
Investors recently announced filing of shareowner resolutions at several corporations with board members who also sit on the Board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, challenging these corporate boards to review their policies and oversight of political expenditures, especially through trade associations. The first filings are at Accenture, IBM, Pepsi and Pfizer. The filers believe […]
Citizens United: Most Won't Engage But Won't Monitor Either
Back in July, I signed onto a letter from the Center for Political Accountability, Walden Asset Management and Domini Social Investment asking companies about their use of new corporate political spending routes opened up by the Citizens United decision. As of October 7, 2010, 68 companies have formally responded, with several more responses expected. 35 […]
Walden Proposes Spit Chair/CEO at HP
Walden Asset Management filed a letter and resolution (WaldenHPLetterSepChairCEO8-10-10) with HP seeking separation of CEO and chair positions. Given the recent resignation of Mark Hurd (Mark Hurd’s Termination from HP: Case Study), timing seems ripe and important as HP searches for a new CEO. Walden cites Chairing the Board: The Case for Independent Leadership in […]
Devon's AGM (Updated)
John Chevedden recently had one of his more common shareowner proposals at Devon Energy (update at bottom): Resolved, Shareholders request that our board take the steps necessary so that each shareholder voting requirement in our charter and bylaws, that calls for a greater than simple majority vote, be changed to a majority of the votes […]
Major Shift in Proxy Voting Policy at State Street
Last year Walden Asset Management filed a resolution at State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) seeking a proxy review. While SSgA successfully obtained a “no-action” letter from the SEC, their voting practices were still the subject of a debate at the annual meeting. This year United for a Fair Economy picked up the torch and filed […]
Intel Yields on Virtual Meeting
From a IntelOurPublicStatementRegardingVirtualMeeting: “In the fall of 2009 Intel indicated it was going to attempt an experiment and hold its’ 2010 stockholders meeting entirely on the web, moving from a physical annual meeting to a virtual meeting. A number of shareholders expressed support for the expansion of the annual meeting via the web, but voiced […]