Shareholder Proposals
The influential proxy analyst, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), recommended voting against Kenneth Steiner’s proxy access proposal at H&R Block (HRB) on 9/13/2012 because it “could undermine the efforts of larger, long-term shareholders whose interests might better reflect those of the broader …
Continue reading
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 …
Continue reading
The cartoon at left accompanied an article entitled Where are the funds? (Pensions & Investments, 3/5/2012) P&I lamented, “instead of sitting on the sidelines, activist investors should take advantage of the opportunity to file access proposals… proxy access proponents must …
Continue reading
The UK backed Kay Review of UK Equity Markets and Long-Term Decision Making was commissioned by Business Secretary Vince Cable after the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, which many thought was driven by short-term investors. After examination the Report made several recommendations …
Continue reading
I attended an SEC meeting with “key stakeholders in the shareholder proposal process to engage in an open and productive dialogue” about the staff’s involvement in the process. (my emphasis) From the invitation: You are one of the representatives from public companies, …
Continue reading
As Joann Lublin reported in the WSJ, Nabors Owners Back Proxy Access Resolution. Shareowners finally won a proxy access proposal! As far as I’m concerned, the proposal is weak (3% stake held for 3 years) but it is a win …
Continue reading
SharkRepellent.net documents the use of PX14A6G filings surged in 2012, Proponents Increasingly Proactive Promoting Their Issues. According to John Laide’s post, the number of such campaigns had already reached 45, versus 27 during all of last year. Read any good PX14A6G …
Continue reading
A new analysis indicates that: Average support for shareholder proposals focused on environmental and social (E+S) issues has more than doubled among U.S. companies, according to “Key Characteristics of Prominent Shareholder-sponsored Proposals on Environmental and Social Topics, 2005-2011,” a recently …
Continue reading
Loren Steffy, of the Houston Chronicle, and Sean Quinn, of the ISS Governance Institute, posted about proxy access and upcoming votes. At Hewlett Packard a shareholder access proposal was withdrawn after the company agreed to sponsor a proposal in 2013 …
Continue reading
This slim publication for directors, as always, is jammed with tips. While all were informative (Ward’s publication is one of a few where I generally read every article), a few jumped out: Ward recommends that directors go to Facebook and …
Continue reading
