United States Proxy Exchange

Updated Model Proxy Access Proposal

Glyn A. Holton — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:35:03 +0000

Two weeks after SEC lawyers granted six corporations approval to exclude “proxy access” proposals from their proxy materials, USPX members are already submitting an updated version of that same proposal to other corporations. Updated language addresses the flimsy pretexts for the lawyers’ decision, as well as implementing improvements to the proposal language that shareowners have [...]

Pushback From SEC Staff

Glyn A. Holton — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 00:03:15 +0000

“Stunning”, “arbitrary”, “unjustifiied” … “questionable”: these are some of the words individual shareowners are using to describe the SEC handling of six corporations’ requests to be allowed to exclude the USPX model proxy access proposal from their 2012 proxy materials.[1] This week, the Commission’s staff approved every one of those requests. Corporate executives routinely solicit [...]

Locking Out Shareowners (For a Fee)

Glyn A. Holton — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:25:18 +0000

It is the most sinister development in finance since robo-signing of foreclosure documents: corporations locking shareowners out of their own annual meetings. The pretext is internet technology that supposedly allows shareowners to participate “virtually” instead. But the technology breaks down, and companies are suspected of using it to suppress criticism. If a CEO has security [...]

It’s Working!!!

Glyn A. Holton — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:25:57 +0000

Eleven weeks ago, we launched the new USPX social networking website. The goal was to create an on-line community for our members to self-organize around issues. Guess what? It is working!!! Already, members Jim McRitchie, Steven Towns and myself have transfered exiting blogs to the USPX website. Members Krassimir Kostadinov, Marko Robinson and Daniel Rudewicz have [...]

Reflections on 2011

Glyn A. Holton — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 09:18:58 +0000

The United States Proxy Exchange (USPX) is a experiment premised on the notion that a grass roots movement—by individual shareowners, for individual shareowners and funded entirely by dues of individual shaeowners—can improve corporate governance and address financial abuse. It is too early to say for sure, but based on what we achieved in 2011, the [...]

Reform Proposals Delayed But Not Blocked by Apache and KBR.

Glyn A. Holton — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 16:50:49 +0000

After two years or legal wrangling, the charade is up. A reform proposal Apache Corp. (APA) has tried to keep from a shareowner vote was resubmitted on Wednesday. It is a fairly benign proposal that, if passed, will ask the board to: … take the steps necessary so that each shareholder voting requirement in our [...]

Wall Street Journal Spotlights USPX Efforts on Virtual Annual Meetings.

Glyn A. Holton — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 15:11:06 +0000

Monday’s Wall Street Journal includes a wonderful article by Joann S. Lublin highlighting the USPX’s efforts to address the risks of “virtual” annual meetings. While virtual annual meetings have the potential to increase shareowner participation, they can also disenfranchise. Rudimentary technology has failed, leaving would-be participants staring at blank screens. Participants complain that tough questions [...]

Model Shareowner Proposal for Proxy Access

Glyn A. Holton — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 10:00:06 +0000

Today, the United States Proxy Exchange (USPX) released a Model Proxy Access Proposal that can be presented to corporations for a shareowner vote under SEC Rule 14a-8 to ensure that long-term shareowners have a reasonable, but not necessarily easy, means for including board nominations in the proxy materials those corporations distribute—so called “proxy access”. The [...]

An Open Letter to Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)

Glyn A. Holton — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 23:26:16 +0000

November 4, 2011 VIA E-MAIL (policy@issgovernance.com) Global Policy Board Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. 2099 Gaither Road Rockville, Maryland 20850 Re: ISS 2012 Proxy Voting Policies – Proxy Access Proposals (US) Dear Sir or Madam: Thank you for this opportunity to comment as you develop policies for making shareowner voting recommendations in 2012. This letter [...]

An Important E-mail YOU Can Send To facilitate Proxy Access

Glyn A. Holton — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 22:28:30 +0000

Can you write an e-mail to Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS)? It will take you two minutes, and doing so could have an enormous impact on proxy access proposals in 2012. A hard-working team of USPX members are drafting a model proxy access proposal that members can submit to corporations for the 2012 proxy season. Here [...]