This year proxy and shareholder proposal rules and practice are evolving to create greater accountability and efficiency. Simultaneously, so called anti-ESG efforts are pressing a more disruptive policy agenda that could eviscerate the rights of share owners to file and vote on environmental and social proposals.
Read moreA Funder's Journey to Shareholder Advocacy and Active Ownership
My first serious introduction to the concepts and practice of “active ownership” and proxy voting came in the early 2000s as the director of a newly created family foundation, the Singing Field Foundation. At that time, I joined the Environmental Grantmakers Association and began attending its conferences and those of other environmental funder affinity groups. Earlier, as a college student, I was on the periphery of the campaigns around university endowments and investments in South Africa. And, I have always felt that mission-driven organizations with invested assets should take great care that those investments not be in conflict with the mission.
Read moreProxy Voting Could Bridge the Red and Blue Divide
Investors currently get the same voting advice from the leading proxy advisory firms, whether broadly diversified or highly concentrated. A portfolio-wide focus for voting makes more sense for diversified investors and investors concerned with environmental and social issues.
Read moreNew Universal Proxy Rule Will Democratize Director Elections
In November 2021, the SEC adopted final rules that will require parties in a contested corporate director election to use universal proxy cards for shareholder meetings held after August 31, 2022. Under the new rules, both the company and any shareholder seeking to elect a slate of director candidates at a shareholder meeting will be required to use proxy cards that include the names of all director nominees presented for election at the meeting.
Read more2022 Proxy Legal Overview: ESG Proposals in Ascendance
The 2022 proxy season reflects the ascendance of support for ESG shareholder proposals, along with policy changes at the SEC that both support and undermine these proposals.
Read moreLawsuit Challenges SEC's Restrictive Shareholder Proposal Rules
In September 2020, the SEC under Chairman Jay Clayton issued amendments to Rule 14a-8 that substantially restrict shareholders’ access to the corporate proxy statement. The Clayton SEC’s actions came in the context of years of lobbying by major trade associations like the Business Roundtable, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the National Association of Manufacturers to limit shareholders’ ability to effectively engage with the companies they own on critical environmental, social, and governance issues.
Read moreThe Promise of Retail Shareholder Power
Voting is integral to the democratic process. During the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, it felt as though you could hardly go a day without hearing a celebrity or politician urging the public to vote.
Read moreProxy Vote Data Complements Fund Ratings On Sustainability
Recent Morningstar research shows that the number and size of U.S. sustainability funds continues to grow. Notable recent additions include sustainable exchange traded funds (ETFs). Within this universe is a wide variation in strategies and commitment—from considering environmental, social and governance (ESG) alongside other factors, to integrating ESG in the investment process, to impact and green economy-focused funds.
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