We think the word they are searching for is “motivated.” You may have thought that, after the series of staff no-action positions allowing exclusion of so-called “fix-it” proposals during the last proxy season, we had seen the last of them. If so, you would be forgetting how persistent (or relentless, depending on your point of…
Tag: proxy access
Charles Schwab shareholders approve proxy access – Pensions & Investments
More than 61 percent of Charles Schwab Corp. shareholders approved a pension fund-led proxy access proposal that would allow shareholders to nominate company directors. Source: Charles Schwab shareholders approve proxy access – Pensions & Investments
NPR Marketplace on Proxy Access
NPR’s Marketplace reports: Many companies have already embraced a kind of governance called “proxy access,” where shareholders can nominate company officials. But other corporations, including IBM and Charles Schwab, oppose it. Listen to the segment: Why companies differ over ‘proxy access’
Big corporations are trying to silence their own shareholders – The Washington Post
David H. Webber, professor at the Boston University School of Law, writes about efforts funded by corporations to reduce the number of shareholder proposals. Note that a very small number of these proposals are filed each year, at a very small percentage of companies, and that even a 100 percent vote in favor is almost…
Proxy Access Reaches the Tipping Point: Adopted by Just Over 50% (251) of S&P 500 Companies as of December 31, 2016
Sidley Austin reports: In just two years, proxy access has become a majority practice among S&P 500 companies, proving again the effectiveness of private ordering by shareholders to enhance their rights. The firm’s new report on proxy access provides an update on (i) recent shareholder proposals seeking specified revisions to existing proxy access provisions (so-called…
GAMCO’s First Use of Proxy Access and “Fix-It” Proposals
First Use of Proxy Access Bylaw On November 10, 2016, GAMCO Investors, Inc. and its affiliated funds filed a Schedule 14N disclosing their nomination of a proxy access candidate for election to the board of directors of National Fuel Gas Company pursuant to the company’s recently adopted proxy access bylaw. National Fuel has a nine-member…
ExxonMobil Adopts Scott Stringer’s Proxy Access Proposal
Announcement from the NY City Comptroller: Today, ExxonMobil announced that it will amend its bylaws to adopt proxy access – a cornerstone of Comptroller Scott M. Stringer and the New York City Pension Funds’ strategy to make corporate boards more diverse, independent, and accountable. Proxy access achieves these goals by giving large, long-term shareholders the…
Corporate Thinking on Proxy Access Undergoing `Sea Change,’ New York City Comptroller Stringer Says | Bloomberg BNA
In an interview, Scott Stringer talks about the “Boardroom Accountability Project.” I wouldn’t say I’m an activist investor. But I am an active long-term investor with large holdings. When you think about our investments—we have shares in 10,000 companies worldwide, including 3,500 that are U.S. based—if we have concerns about the boards we can’t just…
Proxy Access Update: Sidley Austin
From Holly Gregory’s Sidley Corporate Governance Report: Through the collective efforts of large institutional investors, including public and private pension funds, and other shareholder proponents, shareholders are increasingly gaining the power to nominate a portion of the board without undertaking the expense of a proxy solicitation. By obtaining proxy access (the ability to include shareholder…
A powerful new right for big investors is up for a vote at ExxonMobil’s annual meeting – The Washington Post
VEA Vice Chair Nell Minow is quoted in this Washington Post story about proxy access. For years, shareholders have sought what’s opaquely known as “proxy access” — the ability to nominate their own director candidates on the company’s ballot. And suddenly, they’re actually getting it, as the number of companies changing their bylaws to allow it…
