“Ninety-Nine-Percenters” Try To Take Over A Dozen Or So Annual Meetings This Year

Still More Tips On Being Well Prepared

Just before the Spring 2012 Annual Meeting Season began, a loose coalition of unions, activist investors, “Occupy Movement” members, “local” activist groups and assorted others – warned that they intended to target more than 200 share- holder meetings for various kinds of “acting up.”

Your editor, for example, received an email urging him to add his voice to the pro- tests - that came with a handy tool to locate sites within driving distance where he could “learn more” about the issues and how to be heard, in order to make a big impact. Oddly, the majority of sites within an hour’s distance were Quaker Meetinghouses – “a good sign” your editor blithely thought, at first – But as he expanded his driving range toward bigger cities, the sites became a lot fringier – and much angrier sounding when we read more, as urged.

Sure enough, the Wells Fargo meeting soon became front-page news – with a full-color WSJ photo of activists waving WFB stock certificates for one share each, which did indeed entitle them to enter the meeting hall, divide into groups, whereupon they’d take turns shouting and chanting slogans as the Chairman tried to conduct the business of the meeting. And this pattern – to buy one share (which, please note, took quite a bit of organization – and time to accom- plish) – or to get a proxy from a sympathetic holder of record – and then to divide into small groups throughout the hall who’d take turns chanting “We are the ninety-nine percent” – or “Pay your fair share of taxes” – until they were escorted out (largely without incident) but chanting loudly all the way, until the next group took its turn. Essentially the same drill was repeated at GE, where there were about 100 protesters and 30-40 chanters to evict, Verizon (five groups of five chanters we were told) and a half-dozen or so other companies, like NextEra, where 30 or so locals demanded that NextEra - which had benefitted from investment tax credits by improving plant and equipment, and thus paid no taxes in 2011 - write checks to the US and Florida Treasurers “to improve social services” – which one protester seemed sure would reduce her wait-time at the local health clinic.

On April 30th, the city of Charlotte, NC, which was gearing up to host the BofA and Duke Energy meetings, invoked the strict security measures that had been passed in January in anticipation of the Democratic National Convention – allowing police to search briefcases, back- packs, luggage and “messenger bags” – and that included a long list of items – like plastic pipe, lumber, spray paint, pepper spray…and permanent markers – that would be grounds for arrest if discovered.

Wow, thought we: Shades of the bad old days of shareholder activism! And good reason for us, and you, to review our “Tips on Annual Meeting Security” and “Annual Meeting Admission Criteria” that are on our website, www.optimizeronline.com