THE HOTTEST NEW ISSUES ON ACTIVISTS’ 2019 MEETING AGENDAS
The number-one new issue for issuers to focus on as they prepare for their 2019 proxy disclosures, and their all-important “early engagement” activities is - and we say this with very mixed emotions - your company’s management of “Human Capital.” On the one hand, the...People: 2018Q4
Donna Ackerly, who had, for many years, been one of the busiest, most popular and most client-oriented people at Georgeson, has signed-on as a Senior Vice President - Business Development at Laurel Hill Advisors. We are so happy for Donna, and for Laurel Hill as well,...Hot Topics, Trends, and Tips for Transforming Shareholder Relations in 2019
Some practical advice, cost savings tips, and details of the hot topics and trends in the field of proxy solicitation and governance advisory work: As a proxy firm, our business brings us in contact with the most influential institutional investors in the world and...Transformations in the Transfer Agency World
An Update on the Number-One Question Your Editors Get: “What’s Up With All Those Transfer Agents?” The Transfer Agency industry, as most long-term readers know, has been undergoing a rapid and rather massive transformation for well over a decade now. The latest view...Maybe the Biggest Breakthrough Ever, We Say, To Increase Retail Investor Voting
In mid-November, Broadridge Financial Solutions announced that big retail broker Raymond James Financial is all set to effect “mobile integration of shareholder voting…to enhance the investor experience…and simplify shareholder voting” for the upcoming...The Top-Three Things You Should Fear to Hear at Your 2019 Meeting of Shareholders
If there is one thing that will strike fear into the heart and mind of an unprepared Meeting-Chair, it is this question from the floor: “Who counted those votes, Madam Chairman”…and secondly, “how do we know the results are correct?” Your editor-in-chief has heard...Comments on the Proxy Process in Advance of the SEC’s November 15 ‘Roundtable
In this letter, I will try to focus primarily on Over-Voting and Under-Voting, “Empty Voting,” Technology and Innovation (where I have reconsidered a few of my 2010 comments) and, very briefly, on Improving Retail Shareholder Participation. Brent J. Fields,...THE BIGGEST AND BEST THING WE SAW THIS SEASON: A 41% INCREASE IN RETAIL INVESTOR VOTING PARTICIPATION…FOLLOWING AN 8% INCREASE LAST YEAR… AT BANK of AMERICA
Given the slow but steady falloff in individual investor voting that we have been witnessing since the 1970s, it’s hard for us to overstate what a huge and important development this is. We were mightily impressed with last year’s addition of 50,000 new retail voters,...People: 2018Q2
Abby Cowart has resigned as Executive Director of the Shareholder Services Association (SSA) as of June 13, 2018, after a highly successful three-year tenure, marked by the launch of a Certification Program for Shareholder Relations Professionals and vigorous new...On the Supplier Scene: 2018Q2
Computershare is set to purchase Equatex – “a Zurich based employee share plans administrator with a strong business across Europe [whose] 220+ employees provide a range of employee share plans administration solutions for over 160 clients…
AUDITOR RATIFICATION…THE NEXT BIG THING IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE? WE HAVE A BETTER IDEA
We have been saying for five or more years now that treating the vote on ratifying the selection of auditors as a “routine matter” is increasingly absurd, in light of the seemingly never-improving and clearly unsatisfactory number of audit failures reported each year by the PCAOB.
ONCE OVER IN APRIL, SHAREHOLDER MEETINGS ARE YEAR-ROUND EVENTS THESE DAYS
Ten years or so ago, when most public companies used the calendar-year as their fiscal year, virtually 100% of shareholder meetings were over by April 31st.
WANT TO GET YOUR BLOOD A’BOILIN’?? READ WHAT UK DIRECTORS HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE SHORTAGE OF WOMEN LEADERS ON BOARDS…AND IN THE WORKPLACE
“All the ‘good’ women have already been snapped up.” “I don’t think women fit comfortably into the board environment” “There aren’t that many women with the right credentials and depth of experience to sit on the board—the issues covered are extremely complex” “Most...THE NIFTIEST NEW THING WE SAW THIS SEASON: ONLINE – AND MOBILE – “MEET THE BOARD” FEATURES
It’s been a while since we last reviewed EZOnlineDocuments web and mobile-optimized proxy statements…but we were absolutely bowled-over by the quick demo we saw at the Society conference this year…
OUR PREDICTIONS RE: THE 2018 MEETING SEASON WERE SQUARELY ON THE MONEY: HERE’S OUR ANALYSIS OF TOP DEVELOPMENTS – AND OUR ADVICE TO ISSUERS ON PREPARING FOR 2019
Our 2017 prediction that 2018 would indeed turn out to be “the year of the women” – at long last – was happily proven true, at least in the USA…
Zombies at your Shareholder Meeting?
THE SCARIEST IN-BOX ITEM SO FAR THIS YEAR
Hot Issues for Proxy Tabulation and Vote Reporting
Did you know that there are at least eight kinds of proxy tabulators out there these days?
PROXY FIGHTS SHRINK IN NUMBER…BUT THE INTENSITY GROWS BIG-TIME
The just-out issue of Broadridge’s Proxy Pulse newsletter reports that so far this year, proxy contests have decreased markedly vs. last.
Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
An Interview With Todd May SVP, Wells Fargo Shareowner Services
Early Returns from the 2017 Meeting Season
While it’s still early-days as we write this, the 2017 season is off to something of a roaring start, with howls of protests from activist investors about “Virtual Only” shareholder meetings.
On a Happier Note Re: 2017 Annual Meetings
Some of the best materials that have crossed our desk so far
An 8-Million-Vote Margin on 2.75 Billion Votes Cast
“How Could the Inspectors Possibly Confirm That The Numbers Were Right?
Our Top 5 Tips To Widen The Margin of Victory in Close Contests
Start with a rigorous, numbers-oriented analysis of your company’s shareholder base – ninety days before the record date, and again, as of the record date.
An Update on Virtual Shareholder Meetings
A Great Thing, But Look Carefully Before You Leap
