Investigative reporter Judd Legum of Popular Info has identified six major corporations who are supporting the state legislators behind the controversial new abortion bans: Coca-Cola, Eli Lilly, Aetna, ATT, Walmart, and Pfizer. He explains in the Twitter thread the laborious process of getting the information, the exact dollar amount of each contribution to each legislator…
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Study: Buybacks Do Not Impede Long-term Growth [But…..]
A new study purports to show that stock buybacks do not impede long-term growth. Ira Kay and Blaine Martin conclude: Contrary to the common assertion that share buybacks damage long-term growth and investment, we found that companies conducting larger share buybacks (-12.8% change in common shares outstanding over four years) showed higher TSR, higher CapEx growth,…
Letter to Senator Mark Warner About Regulation of Proxy Advisors
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow wrote the attached letter to Senator Mark Warner about the Senate hearing on proxy advisors. Senator Mark Warner proxy issues may 2019
The Market Response to Business: More Long Term/Public Good Focus
Andrew Ross Sorkin reports on the sense of one of the most significant business summits, the Milkin Institute Global Conference. The theme of this year’s meeting is significant in itself: “Driving Shared Prosperity.” And so are the results of the survey showing the need for more credible business leaders and products: Edelman’s latest “Trust Barometer:…
Climate Change Disclosures–More and Better
For more than 20 years, large companies have been ramping up the depth and breadth of their disclosure on GHG emissions. At the same time, the amount of forward-looking financial information on climate risks and the opportunities being provided to investors has been patchy at best. But in the short time since July 2017, following…
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow on CEO Pay: Michael Lewis Podcast
We highly recommend Against the Rules, the superb new podcast series from Michael Lewis (author of The Big Short, The Fifth Risk, Liar’s Poker, and much more) that examines the decline of “refs,” the independent arbiter formerly relied on but now losing credibility, from basketball to art to, yes CEO pay. VEA Vice Chair Nell…
Lorraine Kelly: The Truth About Proxy Advisors
From ISS’s Lorraine Kelly: By any measure, the investment system that helps American workers grow their savings is strong, with $28 trillion in retirement assets now invested in public companies. But if you listen to what some are telling policymakers and others within the Beltway, you may be misled into believing that Main Street investors…
1820 Sugar Jar is an Early Example of the Value of ESG
We were delighted to find this early example of the value of ESG at the British Museum when we were in London for the Public Funds Forum. The British abolitionist movement, the first populist initiative to result in major policy changes and the model for every protest movement to come after, had made consumers unwilling…
Jim McRitchie’s Draft Petition to the SEC on Disclosure of Proxy Votes
Jim McRitchie (jm@corpgov.net) is seeing comments on his draft rulemaking petition for real-time disclosure of proxy votes. Corporations have facilitated the most dynamic economic growth in history. Addressing adverse externalities, like dark money and climate change, has been hampered by dispersed ownership. Mechanisms are needed to define common values and increase individual empowerment within corporate dominated…
