27/09: Shareholder Rights
Ones daily life has a way of making you feel very small and at times inconsequential. Then there are days when your head is above the fray and you see that you can make a difference.
Just this Monday I had an opportunity to become part of something bigger. I participated with other members of my profession in a “lobbying” day on Capitol Hill. The issue at hand was whether the SEC will no longer allow shareholders of publicly traded companies to nominate board members. During the past year there has been a push to limit the nomination process to company managers only, and just allow shareholders the right to vote for the management’s candidate. A style of election that an article in today’s LA Times called “soviet style”!
During our day on the Hill organized by the Social Investment Forum (www.socialinvest.org), we largely met with staff of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees (unfortunately, you rarely get to see the actual representatives or senators). We emphasized how more people own public equities than ever before through retirement plans and mutual funds, and this new “ownership society”, to borrow a phrase from the Bush administration, had the right to be true owners; not just rubberstamp voters.
Our visits did seem to help. The house will be holding hearings on this matter this week (Thursday September 27th) and hearing our point of views was timely. I believe that congress and the senate now realize that this is not just some policy wonk discussion, but a matter that affects most people in this country.
To learn more, go to the Social Investment Forum website. And more importantly, if you want to offer your opinion, call your representative and senator. They need to hear from you.
John Campagna
09272007
Just this Monday I had an opportunity to become part of something bigger. I participated with other members of my profession in a “lobbying” day on Capitol Hill. The issue at hand was whether the SEC will no longer allow shareholders of publicly traded companies to nominate board members. During the past year there has been a push to limit the nomination process to company managers only, and just allow shareholders the right to vote for the management’s candidate. A style of election that an article in today’s LA Times called “soviet style”!
During our day on the Hill organized by the Social Investment Forum (www.socialinvest.org), we largely met with staff of the House Financial Services and Senate Banking Committees (unfortunately, you rarely get to see the actual representatives or senators). We emphasized how more people own public equities than ever before through retirement plans and mutual funds, and this new “ownership society”, to borrow a phrase from the Bush administration, had the right to be true owners; not just rubberstamp voters.
Our visits did seem to help. The house will be holding hearings on this matter this week (Thursday September 27th) and hearing our point of views was timely. I believe that congress and the senate now realize that this is not just some policy wonk discussion, but a matter that affects most people in this country.
To learn more, go to the Social Investment Forum website. And more importantly, if you want to offer your opinion, call your representative and senator. They need to hear from you.
John Campagna
09272007
