Shareholder proposal rule
Both investors and companies are maturing in how they view critical issues raised at the corporate ballot box. Even amid a proxy season that included “the priciest shareholder fight ever,” according to The Wall Street...more
In 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted final rules that made it easier for shareholders, including activists who may not have the company’s long-term interests in mind, to put dissident directors on a...more
Shareholder proposals submitted for 2024 annual meetings continued to cover a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics. And companies seeking to exclude shareholder proposals they deemed inappropriate...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update....more
In January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, the two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it may exclude their...more
You may recall that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, the two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it...more
Over the past decade, environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics have featured heavily in social and political discourse. ESG has also become prominent in the boardroom as directors navigate how best to address...more
As we enter the 2024 proxy season, public companies should consider a number of key disclosure and governance matters. Below is a high-level summary of applicable rule changes, guidance, and disclosure considerations for the...more
As you know, the shareholder primacy theory is widely attributed to the Chicago school of economists, beginning in the 1970s, with economist Milton Friedman famously arguing that the only “social responsibility of business is...more
You remember that, in January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit against Arjuna Capital, LLC and Follow This, two proponents of a climate-related shareholder proposal submitted to Exxon, seeking a declaratory judgment that it may...more
Pursuant to rules that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued in late 2022, publicly traded companies must generally provide both tabular and narrative and/or graphical disclosure of the relationship between...more
Closed-end investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the "1940 Act"), have proven to be a product sought by many investors, especially individuals. Despite their appeal to long-term...more
Back in 2014, a few companies, facing shareholder proposals from the prolific shareholder-proposal activist, John Chevedden, and his associates, adopted a “direct-to-court” strategy, bypassing the standard SEC no-action...more
On January 19, 2024, the Division of Investment Management staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), released several responses to frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the adoption of rules and form...more
On December 19, 2023, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) released its updates to its Proxy Voting Guidelines. Somewhat unusually, ISS made only one change to its voting recommendation policies for U.S. public...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the two most influential proxy advisory firms, recently released updates to their voting policies for the 2024 proxy season. The ISS US policy update will apply for...more
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2024 annual meeting and reporting season. We have compiled this overview of the latest key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, SEC guidance,...more
On November 16, 2023, proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis released its 2024 Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines. The new guidelines apply to shareholder meetings occurring after January 1, 2024. Unsurprisingly, many of Glass Lewis’s...more
In this program, we will focus on SEC developments affecting, and practical aspects of preparing for, public companies’ annual meetings and annual reports, including compensation, shareholder proposals and corporate...more
Broadly considered, stockholder activism has been a significant phenomenon among the largest U.S. public companies, with activists of a variety of stripes waging campaigns on a wide range of issues including in the form of...more
In late July 2023, House Republicans on the Financial Services Committee introduced four bills targeting various business and market activities that implicate environmental, social, and governance issues. In a statement...more
Today, Mayer Brown’s Larry Cunningham provided testimony to the House Financial Services Committee on shareholder proposals and related issues. Read an excerpt below...more
Following a tumultuous 2022 shareholder proposal no-action letter season, the 2023 season contained fewer surprises from the Staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission...more
Despite a slowdown in M&A activity and macroeconomic headwinds, stockholder activism remains a potentially powerful tool for investors aiming to extract value from companies. The activism landscape continues to evolve as new...more
The SEC’s shareholder proposal rule was the subject of a speech by SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda on June 21, 2023 at the national conference of the Society for Corporate Governance. The speech identifies troubling trends...more