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 moreWhat Shareholders Can Expect From a Biden SEC
With a new year, proxy season, and presidential administration, US SIF expects to see new support for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure and other actions that benefit shareholders, other investors, and society at large.
During the presidency of Donald Trump, the executive branch rolled back environmental protections and imposed constraints on investors who sought to raise concerns about ESG issues.
Read moreProposed Rules Threaten To Obstruct Pathway To Improved ESG Disclosure And Performance
The Shareholder Rights Group is a group of leading proponents of shareholder proposals that have come together in defense of shareholder proposals under rule 14a-8. After the SEC issued its November 5, 2019 proposed changes to the rule, we examined how the proposed changes would have affected recent proposals and engagements at companies with high profile corporate responsibility challenges: Boeing, Wells Fargo and Chevron.
Read moreThe Attack On Shareholder Rights
The currently pending SEC proposals to regulate proxy advisory firms and to limit shareholder proposals together represent the biggest attack on shareholder rights by the SEC since it was created in 1934.
Read moreShareholder Proposals Provide Crucial Early Warning System For Identifying Risk
For decades, the shareholder proposal process has served as a cost-effective way for corporate management and boards to gain a better understanding of shareholder concerns, particularly those of longer-term shareholders concerned about the sustainability of the companies they own.
Read moreSEC Putting Corporate Interest Over Shareholders And Consumers
The general public has grown steadily more aware of how corporations affect people and the planet. More companies now offer “green” products and services, make their supply chains more transparent, and have sustainability departments, but there is an acute need for still greater corporate oversight.
Read moreInvestors Determine Materiality
We are at a crucial moment in the history and future of our securities laws. I am delighted to have a chance to share my thoughts on the critical work that Proxy Preview is doing to help investors hold American corporations accountable to ordinary American investors.
Read moreMicromanagement And Executive Compensation Challenges Under New Sec Staff Bulletin
New interpretations by the SEC of the Shareholder Proposal Rule (14a-8) in 2017 led to an increase in omissions of climate proposals last year. There is reason for concern that the number of omissions could increase further in 2019, depending on how the SEC applies its latest SEC Staff Legal Bulletin 14J, issued on October 23, 2018.
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.
Read moreYour Investments, Your Voice – New Tool For Individual Shareholder Advocacy
Imagine only 11 percent of people vote in an election. Imagine the perverse incentives that society would create. Now realize that, for the largest corporations that drive our economy, that is exactly what is happening.
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