The All-Important Master Ballot: What Is It? Why Do You Need To Sign It In Advance? – And What It Should Say – And Do
“Why do we need to have a Master Ballot for our Shareholder Meetings - and what exactly does it do?” This has been the most common question our Inspectors of Election have been hearing from clients by far - along with an intimately related and equally important one;...How And When To Properly Open And Close The Polls
Over the last two years a mini-debate broke out sporadically over LinkedIn on how best to manage the opening and closing of the polls. Many activist investors felt that they should remain open until after the general Q&A period - and ideally, until the very end of...Ever Think About a Tied Vote?
Or Of What To Say And Do If Some Results Seem “Too Close To Call?”….Very Smart To Do These Days
The 2017 “Ficklefinger Award”
And the winner is……. It’s been quite a few years since we handed out our once-annual Ficklefinger Award. With so much focus on good corporate governance practices over the past few years, most public companies are extremely wary of flicking a finger at...Board Diversity: What Are You Waiting For?
by Patricia Lenkov, Founder and Principal at Agility Executive Search The burden of proof has been met. Diverse boards make better decisions that lead to improved company performance. Yet despite the research and validation and the increasing prodding by institutional...More News from the 2017 Meeting Front: The Best & Worst
BofA’S DONATIONS TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS PRODUCED BIG NEW-VOTER TURNOUT: In our last issue we singled out Bank of America’s proxy package for special mention as “required viewing.” With most of the ‘big season’ now behind us, it remains the best and most effective set of...Some Tips for Choosing a Proxy Solicitor/Advisor
“Do not try this at home” – even if you think you have a good safety net: You will almost certainly find yourself “in over your head” one day, you will likely leave a lot of votes ‘on the table’ as unvoted…and, worst of all, your tabulation will have virtually no credibility if challenged.
Checklist of “BEST PRACTICES” in Evaluating and Selecting a TRANSFER AGENT
We first published this article in 2003 and, believe it or not, it didn’t need much updating until recently, other than to note that there has been a very good market for buyers of TA services and a very difficult one for sellers throughout this long period of industry contraction.
Why Do A Board Assessment: By Mary Denise Kuprionis Of The Governance Solutions Group
How To Get Started, The Process And The Rewards.
Our Top-Three 2014 Annual Meeting Horror Stories
Signs Of The Times, To Note With Care, We Say
The Missing Link: Individual Director Assessment, By Kristina Veaco And Cherie Sorokin Of Veaco Group
The Fast Growing Need To Assess Board Composition, Director Tenure And Individual Director Effectiveness.
What To Do When Activists “Knock”
The subject of how to prepare for – and what, exactly to do – if an activist investor knocks on your door – has been a very hot one of late.
Activist Investors, Shareholder Proponents, Gadflies And Other Would-Be Speakers At Shareholder Meetings
Our Top 10 Tips For Dealing With Them
Cybersecurity, Your Vendors And Your Board
Top Of Board Agendas… But None Of The Checklists We’Ve Seen Address The Way Their Key Vendors Guard, Or Maybe Fail To Guard The Security Of Their Most Sensitive Records… Our Tips
How To Cope With The New Activism?
Advice From Bill Fiske of Georgeson, Bruce Goldfarb of Okapi Partners, Tom Germinario of D.F. King, Michael Mackey of Alliance Advisors, Ron Schneider of RR Donnelley and Artie Regan of Regan & Associates.
Computershare’s Jay McHale Reviews Issuer Challenges And Solutions For 2015
The Optimizer had an opportunity to sit down with Jay McHale, President of Computershare’s US Equity Services, to talk about his perspective on the securities industry.
A Few “Housekeeping Issues” To Add To Your Annual Meeting Planning Agenda
…Or To Tick Off Your List Before The Big Day Looms…
A Little Primer On Annual Meeting Etiquette
Our Top Ten Tips On Meeting Manners – Plus One To Think On
Hiring A Consultant To Perform A Governance Audit, Board Evaluation Or Other Governance Study
Kristina Veaco and Cheryl Sorokin of Veaco Group
2014 Predictions On New Shareholder Proposals
Straws In The Wind: Our Predictions On ‘Big New Things’ Coming Soon On The Shareholder Proposal Scene
2012 Transfer Agents
Our Top Tips And A List Of Resources For Issuers Looking To Make Sense Of Industry Turmoil
Our Number-One Tip For “Annual Meeting Security”
Having Safe, Sane, Sensible And Scrupulously Fair Rules Of Conduct In Place… Plus, The Very Important Tip Number-Two
Rules And Procedures For The Conduct Of Annual Stockholder Meetings
XYZ Corporation welcomes you to its 20th Annual Meeting of Stockholders. In fairness to all stockholders in attendance, and in order to provide stockholders an opportunity to be heard – and in the interest of conducting an orderly meeting, within a reasonable time period – we require you to honor the following rules of conduct:
The Top Ten Ways To Disrespect Your Individual Investors— And To Get Permanently “De-Friended” By Them
Reduce your communications with retail investors to the lowest levels the law requires: True friends will really appreciate your thriftiness, no?
