Specifically, the resolution asks for disclosure of:

1. Company policy and procedures governing lobbying, including that done on our company’s behalf by trade associations.
2. Payments used for direct lobbying as well as grassroots lobbying communications
3. Membership in and payments to any tax-exempt organization that writes and endorses model legislation.
4. Decision-making processes and oversight by management and the Board.

To contact James McRitchie directly, please email jm@corpgov.net

Transparency should not be optional.

Shareholders deserve visibility and clarity so they can trust and have faith in the companies they co-own, and in the government entities that regulate the financial policy that mandates corporate behavior and governance.

Faith and confidence should be earned.

When faith is not earned and facts are obscured, visibility clouded, regulatory entities uncertain, the market cannot function properly.
Confidence underpins and underscores all. Without confidence where are we? What is real, what isn’t? Accountability and transparency are the new orders of the day, or how will we survive and prosper in any enduring manner?

Clueless or Contemptuous?

Henry Merritt “Hank” Paulson, Jr. (born in Palm Beach, March 28, 1946) served as the 74th United States Secretary of the Treasury during one of the most chaotic episodes in America’s history.

He was a brilliant student, an Eagle Scout, and an All-America football player. He became a partner at Goldman Sachs in 1982, and left to assume the cabinet post of Secretary of the Treasury in George W. Bush’s administration.

In a Rolling Stone article in 2011, Tim Dickinson applied the construct of “crony capitalism” to Paulson’s generous revelation to Wall Street “titans” at the hedge fund offices of Eton Park Capital Management LP in Manhattan. Paulson spilled the beans: the government was going to nationalize Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.

According to Bloomberg News, Paulson shared this information with his cronies on July 21, 2008. On July 13 he had told reporters that “the firms [Freddie and Fannie] must remain shareholder owned and [he] had testified at a Senate hearing two days later that giving the government new power to intervene made actual intervention improbable.”

Was Hank Paulson clueless or merely contemptuous in his sharing of “insider information” with his cronies?

Technically, he may not have actually broken the law; but his betrayal of trust will be etched on our cortexes in perpetuity. How would Alexander Hamilton, our first Secretary of the Treasury, have conducted himself in Hank’s position? Superb legal scholars and financial history buffs will be studying these issues for a long time.

Money & Trust

Surrealism was a cultural movement that thrived in the 1920s in France. Unexpected juxtapositions, non sequiturs, and surprise were the orders of the day. Unwittingly, Andre Breton foreshadowed the “Dance” on The Street nearly 100 years later.

Money and trust are fundamental constructs in our culture. In 1956 “In God We Trust” was adopted as the official motto of the United States. In God We Trust has appeared on U.S. coins since 1864 and on paper currency since 1957. Salmon P. Chase, Lincoln’s Secretary of the Treasury during the Civil War innovated this slogan for coinage; quite the contrast to Bush’s secretary of state. Surrealism at its finest; real life is indeed stranger and juicer than fiction.

Hypnagogic comes from the ancient Greek hypn “sleep” and agogos “inducing, leading.” After the horror, shock and rage, the average shareholder has to crash when he reads about the tales of The Street. What other “tales” lay in wait for the shareholder community? How much more can we “digest” before we literally pass out?

Activism is as American as apple pie. It is part of our heritage. We fight for what we believe in. “Don’t just dispute: contribute.” This is The Shareholder Activist’s battle cry; shareholders must stand up for themselves or they will perish.

Thirty thousand Enron employees watched their pensions evaporate before their very eyes because they trusted blindly.

For investors, faith without visibility and clarity can be a tragic combination.

It makes good business sense. This is especially the case when investing in companies that operate in emerging markets. Emerging markets—nations or regions experiencing rapid growth and industrialization—are more susceptible to porous corporate governance than more established markets.

In an emerging market, ethical and moral standards are often pushed aside to make way for short-term growth and stability. Yet such dysfunction actually breeds long-term instability.

Therefore, the principles of responsible shareholder activism are even more essential when investing in emerging markets.

Emerging markets create the opportunity to do it right from inception, which is rarely the case in terms of corporate governance. Greed and corruption, combined with ineptitude and inexperience, make for quite the toxic brew when it comes to nation-building.

Immediately, sustainability and responsibility are key factors. It’s almost as if emerging markets are creating their own financial constitution in utero. During these periods, it’s crucial that shareholders assume a vigilant posture because their portfolios are invested in markets (and countries) struggling to define themselves and their standards.

Consider the context. Developing nations are faced with severe capital inflow issues, legal conflicts, environmental problems, government control manias, and a myriad of cultural and other internal issues.

A white paper written in 2011 for the Oikos Foundation for Economy and Ecology, founded in Switzerland in 1990, addresses the determinants of shareholder activism in emerging markets. In these markets, sustainability is the goal. However, first things first: Viability. Life itself!

Sustainability is a sophisticated luxury reserved for NYSE listed companies. In emerging markets, there must be “proof of life.” Investors must have confidence that their monies are reasonably secure.

Emerging market economies constitute more than 80% of the global population, but represent about 20% of the world’s economies, and 75% of the world’s land mass and resources.

According to Blackrock, they are indeed an established asset class (“The Growing Importance of Emerging Markets,” Blackrock, March 2010). It’s a kind of reverse paradoxical Pareto Principle. In Pareto’s time, 80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the populace. These economies are investment targets for wealthier, industrialized societies.

There is no denying there is short-term profitability to be had. Generally, emerging markets are in the process of rapid growth and industrialization which create rich opportunities for outside investors.

But as an investor (socially responsible or otherwise), you need to grasp how those profits are generated. For instance, is it through responsible investments in infrastructure and sound business development practices? Or is a company more competitive because its labor costs are artificially through exploitive employment and abusive practices?

For the latter, when it’s good, it’s really good, and when it’s not it’s not. The swings are more rapid than a bipolar episode. When corruption reigns, rapid boom-bust cycles are the norm. In emerging economies, there is so much room for improvement that good ideas and new businesses can surge like commodities prices.

Lacking a moral compass, these characteristics can manipulate the human psyche with abandon creating hope and euphoria. But fear and depression can be just around the corner. Investors get excited, and then they crash based on the actual data. The emotional roller coaster of irresponsible investing in emerging markets can be wild and unpredictable; the returns can soar or dissipate seemingly from moment to moment.

Emotionally, investors can become disoriented, angry, bewildered, panicky, and sell at the bottom after they’ve had many opportunities to get out.

Overseas investors who espouse to be socially responsible must be aware of the fact that many emerging market political regimes are volatile, potentially corrupt, morally tenuous, and unstable. Profits can be extraordinary in these situations but simultaneously smack of “blood money.” Russia, Brazil, India and China are economic powerhouses fraught with myriad dysfunction across basic human rights dimensions.

Most investors I treat are quite concerned with control and predictability within reasonable parameters. Emerging markets have a “Wild West” flavor.

Even in America we can certainly understand the emotional power of this phenomenon. We became an equity culture slowly but surely after “our West” was won.

Take the profit blinders off. Socially responsible investing in emerging markets just makes good business sense.

A shareholder proposal is one action a shareholder, or group of shareholders, can take to attempt to affect change. This is a formal proposal submitted by a shareholder or a group of investors in a publicly traded company to compel management to take a specific action, usually related to corporate governance.

There is no actual fee for filing a shareholder proposal. However, before you head down this path, it helps to know the indirect costs you will incur for your activism.

Initial Stake in Company

There is an initial entrance fee just to get in the game.

In order to even be eligible to formally submit a shareholder resolution, an investor must own more than $2,000 in stock (with voting privileges) or 1% of the company (the 1% figure can be valued at less than $2,000) to submit a proposal.

The shareholder must own this minimum stake for no less than a full calendar year prior to the date the proposal is submitted, and then continue to hold them through the date of the annual meeting, when proposals may be brought for a vote (and not just the record date).

However, to avoid any issues with eligibility related to dips in share price that may drive down the value of your stake below the $2k threshold, I suggest you purchase more than the minimum.

If the share price does drop, you would have to produce documentation that within 60 days before you submit your resolution, the average of the bid and ask price, as recorded on the primary exchange where the company’s shares are traded, was value at $2,000 or more. But why bother with the hassle?

Click Here for More Information on Eligibility Requirements.

The Cost of Community Building

Shareholder proposals are almost never favorably viewed by the powers that be in publicly traded companies. It may be a fantastic idea they just haven’t thought of. But more likely, it is a measure they are likely to oppose; otherwise it would have been implemented already.

A lone voice of dissension in the harsh wilderness of corporate activism is never as effective as a band of hearty shareholders.

This site provides campaign development and communication tactics to help you form a groundswell to create your alliance of like-minded shareholders. A proposal submitted by a group, especially deciding on collective share ownership of the group, will have a greater impression on the board.

Remember, few shareholder resolutions actually pass, even when brought up for a vote. But shareholder activism should not be about showdowns and victories, but rather the responsible, determined effort to influence change that will reinforce the long-term viability of the company.

Building a coalition that can support a prolonged campaign, perhaps requiring you re-submit the proposal over the cost of several years. A shareholder proposal may never garner enough votes to be adopted, but may influence change.

When you are in it for the long haul, it helps to have other shoulders to help carry the load. To be most effective and keep the momentum gradually building requires regular communications, research and community building.

Click Here to Download “Sounding the Call, Communications Tactics for Shareholder Activists.”

Primary Costs Will Be Legal Fees

If you are going to invest the time and effort to mount a shareholder proposal campaign, you need to enlist the aid of a legal professional that specializes in this area of corporate law.

Make sure and research extensively—e.g. the submission process, the company, the issue, the industry) —to minimize legal fees. However, you will need legal counsel to assist with the process, especially if interaction with the company ensues.

Expect to spend upwards of several thousand dollars.

Again, this is another reason why it is best to band together and form a coalition to share the burden.

Furthermore, if you proposal address a social or environmental issue, there may be a non-profit organization you can align with for support, which may even be active in promoting corporate change in this same area.

This is a very specific area of the law, so make sure and seek multiple opinions before selecting the firm that fits your needs.

The Emotional Expenses

In many instances, the financial costs associated with filing a shareholder proposal are dwarfed in comparison to the emotional toll.

This can be a lengthy, frustrating, agonizingly complex process with minimal chances of success, especially if you do not possess a massive stake in the company or are aligned with major stakeholders.

From the outset, make sure you clearly define your motivations and objectives while you envision the obstacles you will face.

You will need this clarity for the long road ahead.

To contact Craig McGuire directly, please email Craig.McGuire@TheShareholderActivist.com.

Shareholders need to be aware of the roll role this critical entity agency plans plays in protecting their investments.

The SEC is not a subordinate appendage of the U.S. financial system, but a dutiful servant of the people, created to safeguard the system, “As more and more first-time investors turn to the markets to help secure their futures, pay for homes, and send children to college, our investor protection mission is more compelling than ever.”

The SEC is an agency created by the people, for the people. Here are some key points, pulled directly from the SEC’s website, on its role as a partner and advocate for the shareholder, including guidance on filing complaints and reporting fraud. (To review this information and more, I encourage you to visit the “About the SEC” page on its website.)

Who Does the SEC Oversee?

According to its website: “The SEC oversees the key participants in the securities world, including securities exchanges, securities brokers and dealers, investment advisors, and mutual funds. Here the SEC is concerned primarily with promoting the disclosure of important market-related information, maintaining fair dealing, and protecting against fraud.”

There are No Guarantees

There is no crying in investing, nor are there any guaranteed investments. Mismanagement does not automatically equate to negligence or fraud. “The world of investing is fascinating and complex, and it can be very fruitful,” the SEC states. “But unlike the banking world, where deposits are guaranteed by the federal government, stocks, bonds and other securities can lose value. There are no guarantees. That’s why investing is not a spectator sport. By far the best way for investors to protect the money they put into the securities markets is to do research and ask questions.”

You Are Entitled to Information

An informed investor activist is a responsible shareholder activist. One of the SEC’s key functions is to ensure access to information. “The laws and rules that govern the securities industry in the United States derive from a simple and straightforward concept: all investors, whether large institutions or private individuals, should have access to certain basic facts about an investment prior to buying it, and so long as they hold it,” states the SEC. “To achieve this, the SEC requires public companies to disclose meaningful financial and other information to the public. This provides a common pool of knowledge for all investors to use to judge for themselves whether to buy, sell, or hold a particular security. Only through the steady flow of timely, comprehensive, and accurate information can people make sound investment decisions.

What is the Shareholder’s Role?

According to the SEC’s website: “One of the major sources of information on which the SEC relies to bring enforcement action is investors themselves — another reason that educated and careful investors are so critical to the functioning of efficient markets. To help support investor education, the SEC offers the public a wealth of educational information on this Internet website, which also includes the EDGAR database of disclosure documents that public companies are required to file with the Commission.

How to Report a Possible Securities Fraud

If you would like to provide the SEC with information about fraud or wrongdoing involving potential violations of the securities laws, which may include the conduct listed below, use the Tips, Complaints and Referrals Portal. See also further information about submitting a tip or complaint.

• Ponzi scheme, Pyramid Scheme, or a High-Yield Investment Program
• Theft or misappropriation of funds or securities
• Manipulation of a security’s price or volume
• Insider trading
• Fraudulent or unregistered securities offering
• False or misleading statements about a company (including false or misleading SEC reports or financial statements)
• Abusive naked short selling
• Bribery of, or improper payments to, foreign officials
• Fraudulent conduct associated with municipal securities transactions or public pension plans
• Other fraudulent conduct

How to Ask As a Question or Report a Problem

Click this link to ask a question or report a problem concerning your investments, your investment account or a financial professional. If you have a problem with your investments, investment account, or a financial professional (examples are listed below), use our investor complaint form to provide us your information.

• Order handling, trade execution, confirmations
• Delivery of funds or securities
• Dividends
• Fees, commissions or mark-ups
• Inaccurate or misleading disclosures by financial professionals
• Margin
• Suitability
• Opening, transferring or closing an account or redeeming or transferring mutual funds
• 401(k), pension plans or retirement accounts
• Other problems with investments or investment accounts

Learn More About the “Whistleblower” Program

Click here to Learn about the whistleblower provisions in the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, that amended the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) by, among other things, adding “Securities Whistleblower Incentives and Protections.” Here is an excerpt from the website:

The Commission is authorized by Congress to provide monetary awards to eligible individuals who come forward with high-quality original information that leads to a Commission enforcement action in which over $1,000,000 in sanctions is ordered. The range for awards is between 10% and 30% of the money collected.

The Office of the Whistleblower was established to administer the SEC’s whistleblower program. We greatly appreciate your interest, and we hope that this website answers any questions you may have.

We understand that the decision to come forward with information about securities fraud or other wrongdoing is not one taken lightly, and we are here to answer any questions you may have. You can reach the Office of the Whistleblower at (202) 551-4790.

http://www.sec.gov/whistleblower

Be Patient, Act Responsible

The SEC is not an activist organization, but responsible for the fair and just oversight of these key financial entities. As such, its actions need to be carefully orchestrated, to balance the need for action with the necessity of not derailing the financial markets.

To be a responsible investor activist or corporate gadfly requires understanding the process and diligently researching your complaints and position.

Keep in mind that when your goal is the long-term viability of your investment, in spirit you are in harmony with the mission of the SEC.

If you have had an experience with the SEC and would like to share your thoughts with other investors, please send me your comments.

To contact Craig McGuire directly, please email Craig.McGuire@TheShareholderActivist.com.

Recognizing and understanding how human behavior drives decisions is a skill all shareholders need to hone.

Even corporations can be trained up with behavior modification (B-Mod) techniques. People make up companies, and their behavior and headsets can change. Management can be brought to task, and educated to think differently.

Shareholder activism and the role of the corporate gadfly can impact corporate behavioral change. The Nathan Cummings Foundation is dedicated to an economically and socially just society. The Foundation’s investment strategy pivots on the accountability of firms in which it invests. Cummings utilizes B-Mod techniques to modify corporate behavior.

In a 2010 white paper, “Changing Corporate Behavior through Shareholder Activism,” the Foundation goes on record. Just as of 2009, American foundations owned more than $583 billion dollars in assets. They are an investment force.

Nathan Cummings has been committed to pushing corporations to strengthen shareholder rights, improve governance, promote transparency, and focus on social and environmental issues.

Cummings employs tactics of engagement, and it encourages the “expression of voice” to bolster share value. Speaking to issues frankly, rather than abandoning them, ultimately increases company equity.

The Foundation fosters proactive conflict resolution and problem solving paradigms which underscore the fact that ‘we are all in this together.’ The foundation espouses a belief in active ownership and asset driven tools for change rather than just income-generating services or products.

Recently, the Cummings Foundation sponsored a shareholder proposal aimed to convince eBay to declassify their board of directors. Subsequently, a campaign was created which prompted more than a dozen other corporations to declassify their boards of directors. Classified boards serve set terms; longer terms are awarded to senior board members. Shareholder activists contend that classified boards breed complacency and ‘incestuous’ relations with management.

In 2011, Cummings launched a shareholder proposal at Goldman Sach’s Annual Meeting which focused on senior executive compensation. Pay and bonuses were felt to be excessive by virtue of the fact that earnings had dropped by 38%, and Goldman’s stock had deteriorated through the year.

The Foundation understands that change creates growth and in turn value. In effect, they are modifying corporate belief systems, and they have shown how this approach pays off.

This is most interesting as they are helping to change the ‘mentality’ of corporate culture from the inside out.

People are the company. The product or service is only a conduit. The consumer and investors need to believe that the company is righteous.

To contact Christopher Bayer directly, please email Christopher.Bayer@TheShareholderActivist.com.

DID YOUR COMPANY HOLD AN ANNUAL MEETING THE PREVIOUS YEAR?

If you plan on submitting your proposal for the annual meeting held by your publicly traded company, that deadline date can usually be found the copy of the previous year’s proxy statement.

However, never assume anything. Always contact the investor relations department to confirm that date has not been moved.

WHAT IF YOUR COMPANY RE-SCHEDULES THE ANNUAL MEETING?

Your company may not have held an annual meeting the previous year. Or your company may be re-scheduling the meeting from the date listed in the proxy statement.

The revised date can usually be found in one of the company’s quarterly reports, in other company communications or posted in the company’s investor relations section of its website. However, always make sure to call to confirm.

SECURE A PROOF OF DATE TO AVOID HEADACHES

Shareholder proposals are usually viewed contentiously by management, so do not expect them to offer any accommodations beyond what is required by the US Securities & Exchange Commission. Not submitting by a deadline can disqualify a submission. To sidestep squabbling over deadline dates, make sure you submit via a method that provides a definitive proof of delivery date.

HOW DOES A COMPANY CALCULATE THE DEADLINE?

The SEC provides the following guidance:

The deadline is calculated in the following manner if the proposal is submitted for a regularly scheduled annual meeting. The proposal must be received at the company’s principal executive offices not less than 120 calendar days before the date of the company’s proxy statement released to shareholders in connection with the previous year’s annual meeting. However, if the company did not hold an annual meeting the previous year, or if the date of this year’s annual meeting has been changed by more than 30 days from the date of the previous year’s meeting, then the deadline is a reasonable time before the company begins to print and mail its proxy materials.

However, the SEC does not define what “reasonable time.” Therefore, call the investor relations officer or representative and request the printing a schedule and submission deadline, and plan on filing sooner rather than later.

PLAN YOUR CAMPAIGN AROUND THE COMPANY’S SCHEDULE

Most shareholder proposals are unsuccessful. However, a proposal can be a component of a larger campaign to affect real change, both within and beyond the company. In fact, shareholder proposals that focus on environmental and social issues are not only increasing in number, but also generating substantial support from investors.

But whether your objective is to raising broader awareness for an issue, or if you seek internal policy change and are rallying support among the shareholder base, you should give yourself plenty of time to build a campaign.

Debating, developing and delivering a shareholder proposal can be key milestones for your shareholder campaign. If gives your supporters an issue to congregate around and a step-by-step process of actionable activities you can all work towards.

The urgency of having a deadline for submission will provide the structure to your campaign to keep everyone motivated and on schedule.

To envision the scope of your campaign, Click Here to Download a Free Campaign Planning Checklist.

Ultimately, your ability to plan according to a schedule and sync with key corporate events (earnings announcements, annual meetings, analysts’ reports, larger industry-wide events, etc.) will increase the likelihood you will have the positive effect you envisioned.

To contact Craig McGuire directly, please email Craig.McGuire@TheShareholderActivist.com.

This includes discouraging investments overseas in area of the world rife with corruption and human rights violations. Most portfolio managers practice asset allocation strategies. As a result, some of our monies are commonly invested in overseas companies and funds. We are a nexus of global interconnecting economies which work in tandem with one another.

Yet if you sense outrage, do not act just from reading headlines. Responsible activism is born from knowledge. Before you act and call for change, first research the events and the underlying situation.

We have to embrace the concept of oppression to feel the outrage to resist and overcome. An awareness of oppression is critically important because oppression involves people, and people are the lifeblood of an economy. Part of what led to the failure of Apartheid in South Africa was world opinion which led to increasingly severe economic sanctions which hampered growth.

Today oppression is not as obvious as it was years ago, but nonetheless virulent and despicable. At this point in world economic history, it may be difficult to fathom brutal trade wars, isolationist policies, or racism-based political systems of oppression.

THE GHOSTS OF OPPRESSION

Oppression is socially sanctioned, systemic maltreatment, segregation, and exploitation of a category or group of people by other people.

I recently had the distinct pleasure of visiting South Africa, joined by my two sons. It was on this trip that I was reminded of just such an ugly episode of oppression, the profound human tragedy of Apartheid.

Throughout our journey, the ghosts of Apartheid were felt, as we toured Cape Town, the wine country, Thornybush Reserve, and Johannesburg.

South Africa is a rich, complicated, interesting, and most beautiful country. It has abundant natural resources, ample mineral deposits (gold, diamonds platinum), and exceptionally fertile farmland. It is quite easy to see why this land had been so contested for so long.

South Africa was colonized by the Dutch and English in the early 1600s. The Dutch East India Company created a service station in Cape Town near the Cape of Good Hope where they could maintain their shipping trade to and from Indonesia, and also engage in the growing slave trade. Holland was an ascending world power.

Eventually, however, British domination of the Dutch colony’s descendants (known as Boers or Arikaners) led the Boers to create their own new colonies known as Transvaal and Orange Free State.

In the 1940s, the Afikaner National Party gained the majority. The Allies and Russia defeated the Axis powers in 1945 during World War II. Three years later, the government of South Africa enacted very sophisticated, detailed apartheid laws shortly after the defeat of the fascist, racist polices perpetrated by Germany and Japan. Interestingly, the South African army fought on the side of the Allies in World War II.

In 1948, the party formally created Apartheid in order to solidify control of the economic and social systems of the entire country; and the majority black population.

The die of oppression had been cast.

SYSTEMIC OPPRESSION

Racial discrimination was officially institutionalized in South Africa, and impacted every aspect of social life, marriage, employment, education, freedom of movement, and homeland residency.

Think about that for a moment. All political rights were based on, and restricted, to the prescribed homeland of the African population who were, in effect, deprived of South African citizenship and denationalized. Blacks were required to carry “pass books.”

Over time, through 1994, more than 120 laws were passed by the white controlled South African Parliament which limited, controlled, and dictated life for blacks.

Appallingly, at the initiation of apartheid in 1948, blacks outnumbered whites by nearly 5 to 1 (20 million to 4.5 million). Whites owned 87% of the land, and blacks owned 13%. Blacks had one physician available per 44,000 people whereas whites had one physician available per 400 people.

The average annual expenditure for education per black student was the equivalent of $45 whereas for a white student it was nearly $700 dollars.

Freedom, equity, opportunity, political rights, and citizenship had been revamped and taken away from nearly 20 million people by the Afrikaner-dominated National Party.

TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT

For more than two generations, South Africa struggled and endured violence, humiliation, a declining economy and standard of living, pain and death, world trade embargos, a decline of human spirit, emotional depression, and moral compromise.

The African National Congress worked fearlessly and persistently to formulate political platforms, and create the groundwork for freedom. Nelson Mandela, the party’s leader, spent 27 years in prison. He was affectionately known as “Madiba” which means reconciler, or the filler of ditches.

Mandela is an extraordinary man. He was released unconditionally by then President F.W. de Klerk in 1990. In the first open election in the history of South Africa, Mandela was elected President in 1994 in a free multi-racial forum. He worked closely with President F.W. de Klerk to formulate policy and prevent a civil, race war of disproportionate horror which would have torn the country even further apart perhaps to a point beyond redemption. Both men shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

LEARNING THE LESSONS OF HISTORY

As I traveled through South Africa, I was reminded that Apartheid did not just end. The regime did not have a moment of enlightenment and decide to grant equality to the majority of its population.

It took decades of intense pressure. Clearly, part of what led to the failure of Apartheid in South Africa was world opinion, and increasingly severe economic sanctions that hampered growth. But it took far too long.

Investors in the companies that did business in South Africa all those years, that funneled investments into this corrupt regime, share some of the responsibility.

As it was then, so it is now. Feigned ignorance does not absolve the investor or the company. As shareholders, you have the right to know how the company is investing its assets. And if it is in an area of the world where there are rampant human rights violations that thirst for knowledge must grow.

Oppression is the exercise of authority and power in cruel, unjust, and/or burdensome ways. But it is not only the oppressors who are guilty of the systemic atrocities, but the governments and corporations that are complicit by turning too many blind eyes.

The Shareholder Activist provides the tools, tactics, techniques, and forums for the exercise and projection of our inalienable rights as shareholders and investors in America, and in the world beyond.

There is strength in numbers.

There is resolve in aspiring toward justice.

You have a voice.

To contact Christopher Bayer directly, please email Christopher.Bayer@TheShareholderActivist.com.

At the very least, in order to be a shareholder activist, one must have instant, reliable access to their shares. Portfolios, accounts, holdings, payment systems, research documents and so forth constitute the substance of a shareholder’s lifeblood. Gaps of any kind create profound anxiety, confusion, uncertainty, and even panic.

In today’s internet world we take data security for granted. This is an error. You are responsible for the security and integrity of your data. “The buck stops here.” To think otherwise is naïve and potentially dangerous.

When Data Disaster Strikes

What follows is a genuine, authentic life event which impacted this writer harshly and directly. I had contracted with an internet company to host three of my web platforms. “The Company” started out as a technology firm in late ‘70s.

In 2000, it was acquired for more than $20 billion. This is not ‘chump change.’ We’re talking big bucks here. “The Company” is based in the United States. It provides web hosting, website design, and online marketing, including search engine optimization and pay-per-click advertising management services.

The cardinal, most sacred rule of the internet and web platform maintenance is to never, never lose data, at any cost. Any techie worth his bytes will tell you that data loss is not an option; in point of fact it’s a hanging offense (or should be) in several states and countries.

Several months ago “The Company” had a hardware crash/burnout. Apparently they had been having “data base connectivity issues” for many months.

Finally, burnout occurred, and all hell broke loose.

One of this writer’s sites crashed, a good deal of data was lost; the site had last been backed up several months earlier. Needless to say the site required considerable rebuilding and expansion over a period of several weeks: painstaking, tedious work.

A steady stream of contact with Manila and American Corporate produced little results, except pleasant lip service. My contact person within the executive office in the States, actually revealed the following to me (verbatim): “Yes we knew there were data base connectivity issues for months…Did you bring up the notion that you should alert your customer base?…Yes we kicked that idea around for a few months, but we didn’t do it.”

The rest is history.

Thousands of Customers Ravaged By Ineptitude and a Lack of Empathy

A simple email to millions of customers instructing them to do their own back-ups ASAP would have worked wonders, and cost nearly nothing.

However, “The Company” exercised their prerogative of ‘letting nature take her course,’ and the perfect storm ravaged thousands of customers causing massive financial loss and heartache. It just makes no bloody sense; it all comes out in the wash anyhow.

I have jumped ship, and another vendor now has all my business. The fact that “The Company” was ‘penny-wise and pound-foolish’ could be characterized as a petty understatement. In fact, they were cruel and inhumane. But they have assets, power, and inertia; they will survive, but not on my dime.

I now back up my sites daily, and I have put all data on hard disc. One cannot be too careful in today’s internet world! As George Orwell would have most certainly have said: “such, such are the joys.”

More than Data, Protect Your Cyber Soul

Our data, our platforms, our sites are part of our hearts and souls. They are all important pieces of who we are, how we think, and what we present to the world and in turn how the world perceives us.

Being brutalized and assaulted in this realm is shocking. Of course, life really does go on and I have made the site better, but I’ll never be able to fully capture some of the language that I created, and labored for, in its original form.

Refrain: (with Sergio Mendes singing “Never Gonna Let You Go” in the background): “the cardinal, most sacred rule of the internet and web platform maintenance is to never never lose data at any cost.”

Shareholders and investors need to be acutely aware of ‘their data.’ Proper access to information is the shareholder activist’s first order of business.

If you don’t have your data then you have no platform from which to mount a campaign, tender a proposal, or communicate properly with the companies you co-own.

Shareholder’s holdings, assets, their online payment systems, and all other connections to their cyber world are data based and driven. It’s all about backup in multiple ways to multiple ‘outside’ sources and sanctuaries. “One can never be too careful in these matters.”

It is strongly suggested that you create your own backup systems, and consider backing up on hard disc as well. The pain and anguish of rebuilding a data base, and/or retrieving information is severe. “To be forewarned is to be forearmed.” We tend to think that information technology is infallible; it is certainly not. Learning the hard way has etched new safekeeping methods on my cortex.

You have been warned.

To contact Christopher Bayer directly, please email Christopher.Bayer@TheShareholderActivist.com.

If so, don’t just dispute, contribute. Effective shareholder activists do more than flash spotlights on problems. They volunteer solutions, or at least propose alternatives. So stop complaining and start explaining.

TheShareholderActivist.com™ is your source for information to facilitate your responsible shareholder activism. To help get you started and develop your plan of action, TheShareholderActivist.com offers this complimentary checklist to help you envision the actions you can take to advocate for meaningful change.

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FREE DOWNLOAD

From distilling your outrage into attainable objectives to building community to performing meaningful outreach that converts into results, this checklist will help you get started.

If you need more information on specific tactics, you know where to find us. TheShareholderActivist.com™ is your resource for investor education, enlightenment, and, above all, empowerment, so reach out.

If you find this free tool useful, I’d like to hear about it and share it with our community. If you have had success or have additional recommendations, I want you to share with our community so we can all benefit and responsibly ensure the long-term viability of the companies in which we invest.

What type of Shareholder Activist will you be?

To contact Craig McGuire directly, please email Craig.McGuire@TheShareholderActivist.com.