Real-Time Voting At AGMs – The Peskiest – And The Stupidest Issue At VSMs – Plus… Our Own Suggested Workaround
As public companies have learned to their dismay and consternation this year, a “Virtual-Only” Meeting of Shareholders requires issuers - and the service suppliers they utilize - to give both registered and street-name holders the ability to cast their votes in...Plan For A VSM – Or – For A “Stringently Limited In-Person Meeting” In 2021… Now
It’s October 2020, and the chances that public companies will be able to responsibly host in-person Shareholder Meetings any time before October 2021 are virtually ZERO - unless in-person attendance can be strictly rationed to include only the most essential...More Fascinating Materials for the Evelyn Y. Davis File
Following the article for our History File on the notorious EYD, a good friend and former colleague, Stan Siekierski of AST - who is, we believe, the longest-serving person in the Stock Transfer business ever - sent us a rare copy of Evelyn’s HIGHLIGHTS AND LOWLIGHTS...The Virtual Shareholder Meeting Q&A – and How to Tackle It
The most troublesome issues at 2020 VSMs - by far - have revolved around the Question and Answer Period: Just as we had warned, many activist investors took pains to submit questions - both in advance, via an e-mail to the company’s Investor-Page - or by typing into a...The Long and Sometimes Checkered Past of the Proxy Solicitation Business… An Article for Our History File, with Several Lessons Worth Learning
Following the announcement that EQ, the relatively new owners of Wells Fargo Shareholder Services was entering the proxy solicitation business, our good friend, loyal reader and fellow history lover Michael Mackey, President of Alliance Advisors, sent us an outline of the many comings and goings there have been in this fascinating and hotly contested space.
Our Short-List Of Must-Listen VSMs
Topping the list - and the very best VSM we listened to - is STARBUCKS - where we provided some background info and wrote up in detail in our last issue. They put “the shareholder experience” first and foremost, worked hard to make it engaging and informative, and...Our Hall Of Shame For VSM “Bounders”
Topping our 2020 Hall of Shame list is the Transfer Agent that advised all its clients to postpone their Annual Meetings until July at the earliest…simply because they were not able to handle the work involved…and shamelessly implying that this advice was pursuant to...Our Predictions On The Fate Of Virtual Meetings In 2021
First we should note the key assumption, and one we fervently wish for; that ‘the Covid coast will be sufficiently clear’ by year-end to allow people to plan for the possibility of in-person meetings. If not, all bets are off, and likely, there will be many more VSMs...A Word To The Wise: Big Brother Is Watching – And Listening To Your VSMs… Taking Notes… and Gearing Up To Push Back
Yes, a number of “Big Brothers” ARE listening in - some of them to offer constructive criticism and even a few words of praise - but some looking to name and shame - and even, in one extreme case, reported below, to actually threaten executives of companies they...Our “Insider’s Summary” Of The Big Picture At Shareholder Meetings Through June – With A Special Focus On VSMs
From January through June, 2020, the CT Hagberg LLC Team of Inspectors of Elections will have served at 477 Shareholder Meetings - a pretty hefty sample, we’d say, that included a big number of Fortune 500 companies, lots of well-known large-cap companies and a great...Some Timely Reminders On Meeting Etiquette – At In-person And Virtual Meetings
Way back in 2013 we published “A Little Primer on Annual Meeting Etiquette: Our Top Ten Tips on Meeting Manners, Plus One to Think On” - noting that “We’ve never done so from the perspective of meeting-attendees…And, after all, that’s what etiquette is all about, no?...Postpone Your Meeting? Only In The Direst Circumstances, We Advise
We see no reason whatsoever for a company to postpone its annual meeting – unless the company itself becomes overwhelmed during the crisis.
Learn From The Best: Check Out The Starbucks Webcast For A VSM How-To “Playbook”
Starbucks Corporation held its first-ever virtual only shareholder meeting on March 20th, mobilizing quickly to address the looming impact of COVID-19 on its 2020 annual meeting
An Important Update On Shareholder Meeting Readiness From Key Suppliers: Good News…the Best Providers Are Ready, Willing And Able To Face The Many Challenges Posed By Covid-19 Throughout The 2020 Meeting Season
f your company achieved a quorum last year – and was able to pass all or most of the items on the agenda, as most companies were – the OPTIMIZER feel certain that you will be able to do the same this season – with the right game plan, and with the right service providers, of course.
Don’t Let Covid-19 Crash – Or Trash – Your Annual Meeting: Our Updated And Expanded Advice
Let’s put it bluntly: Your company - and you - simply can not afford to let anyone who might potentially be carrying the coronavirus “crash” into your meeting-space this season. So step one has to be to immediately - and drastically - limit the number of “physical...Coronavirus And Your Annual Shareholder Meeting: Some Practical Advice On What To Do Right Now From The Shareholder Service Optimizer
With the coronavirus outbreak now recognized as a global pandemic - and with Annual Meeting Season well upon us - all of us involved with Annual Meeting planning need to take note of the top advice from health experts around the world: To avoid large and potentially...Board Evaluations in 2020 Require a New and 20:20 Vision
By Kristina Veaco Founder, Veaco Group Directors have become bored responding to lengthy questionnaires that cover the same ground year after year. Today’s investors want to know more about board evaluations than ever before. They want to see that the board has taken...Retail Engagement In An Evolving World
By John Dunn Head of Corporate Issuer Sales at Broadridge There is an opportunity for issuers to guide retail shareholders and become that trusted source. In recent years, the number of directors failing to receive majority support rose by 38%. Institutional owners...Engaging Employee-Investors
An interview with Ellen Philip of Ellen Philip Associates Carl: For many a year your principal concentration has been on shareholder voting as it applies to employee plans. And, as everyone knows, employee-shareholders have not been untouched by the general apathy...Fascinating Data About Proxy Solicitors And Legal Advisors In Contested Situations
Activist Insight Monthly, which regularly tracks info on contested situations, named Okapi Partners as the “Top Proxy Solicitor of 2019” - for the fourth consecutive year - based, we hasten to note, on the number of “deals” handled. The survey also named the leading...Stop Doing Annual Board Evaluations!
Start conducting board performance reviews that elicit helpful advice on how the board might work better. The Governance Solutions Group is a board advisory practice with a focus on engaging directors in the annual board assessment process and guiding strategic...Major Shifts In Transfer Agency Market Share: Many More Developments To Come
As you will see from the chart below, we estimate that the transfer agency market - measured by shareholder records maintained - dropped by roughly 5% between our last estimates in 2017 vs. year-end 2019… producing some very interesting shifts in market share at...Shareholder Records Retention: The Devil’s in the Details
By Merrill B. Stone & Stephanie W. Estey We all can be a little forgetful. For example, most of us who wear glasses seem to misplace them with an annoying degree of regularity. We tear up the house, going from room to room only to find them, quite literally, right...How Is Your “Statement Of Corporate Purpose” Shaping Up? Two Good Sources To Check Into For Guidance…
You would not be doing all of your 2020 homework without thinking about incorporating some kind of statement about your “Corporate Purpose” into your Annual Report, following all the publicity the Business Roundtable got with its statement on the importance of having...
