proxy voting

S.6 E.1 In the first episode of a new season, I discuss important economic and social issues. Topics include inflation and egg prices, dogs being abandoned at America's southern border, a new bill in Connecticut that would allow 12-year-olds to get vaccines without parental consent, a legislation to protect Mount Rushmore, and Speaker Kevin McCarthy's decision to end the system of proxy voting in the House of Representatives.

WWW.TAWSIFANAM.NET

ABOUT: Tawsif Anam is a nationally published writer, award-winning public policy professional, and speaker. He has experience serving in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors in United States and overseas. Anam earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and a Master of Public Affairs degree from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Tawsif Anam’s opinions have been published by national, state, and local publications in the United States, such as USA Today, Washington Examiner, The Washington Times, The Western Journal, The Boston Globe, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, The Capital Times, and The Dodgeville Chronicle. His writings have also appeared in major publications in Bangladesh including, but not limited to, The Daily Star and The Financial Express.

Visit my website www.tawsifanam.net

Visit my blog: https://tawsifanam.net/blog/

Read my published opinions: https://tawsifanam.net/published-articles/

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Luke Barrett, general counsel at Unisuper and David Gallagher, a visiting fellow at the RoZetta Institute, discuss size, influence & concentration of the superannuation industry in private and capital markets. Moderated by Matthew Smith, managing editor, Investment Magazine.

1. Start of interview [1:30]
2. Jim's "origin story" [2:12]
3. How his experience at CalEPA led him to become a shareholder advocate [6:07]
4. His experience with Mark Latham, a former Berkeley Prof and Salomon Brothers banker on developing and promoting a new shareholder proposal method  [8:03]
5. His efforts to get elected to the CalPERS board [11:33]
6. CalPERS and the increasing influence of institutional investors in corporate governance  [12:53]
7. "Thirty years ago no shareholder proposal had ever passed." Last year [McRitchie] filed 50 proposals and in 26 of them he got majority vote or else he worked an agreement with the company. [14:21]
8. His Proxy Access petition to the SEC in 2002 [15:28]
9. Why his friends from social responsible investment (SRI) funds started filing shareholder proposals [16:57]
10. Pax World Funds was the first socially responsible investment fund. "Later on, SRI funds started engagement campaigns." [18:55]
11. "ISS and Glass Lewis don't set the agenda, it's the public opinion that sets the agenda." "ISS is not driving the vote, they simply hold up a mirror to its customers" [20:28]
12. Jim's take on "stakeholder capitalism" and BRT's restatement of the purpose of the corporation. [21:56]
13. Jim's shareholder proposals at BlackRock: His "hypocrisy proposal." [23:46]
14. Jim's approach for his shareholder proposals, and why he's getting majority support. How he compares with John Chevedden and the Steiners. He keeps a spreadsheet with 150 target companies. [25:27]
15. Why he does what he does: "I am really pissed off with all these injustices" [27:20]
16. The influence of the book "A Nation of Small Shareholders" by Janice Traflet (2013) [28:47]
17. The problem of dual class shares [31:15]
18. Jim is taking a page from Elizabeth Warren. He'd like companies to elect a director who can serve  as a liaison to employees ("Rooney rule but including employees"). [32:33]
19. Jim's Rulemaking Petition to the SEC for Real-Time Disclosure of Proxy Votes [34:19]
20. Why he files around 50 shareholder proposals per year [36:14]
21. The impact of COVID-19 on his work, and the advent of virtual shareholder meetings [37:14]
22. "There has been tremendous corporate governance progress on paper (not so much in reality)" [38:22]
23. How his work has enabled hedge funds to go after companies [39:18]
24. His favorite books: [44:42]
    1. The Social Construction of Reality (1966) (Peter Berger & Thomas Luckmann)
    2. Participation and Democratic Theory (1970) (Carole Pateman)
    3. Power and Accountability (1992) (Bob Monks and Nell Minow)
25. His favorite study: NSF meta-study from 45 years ago: workplace should be more democratic, employees should have more say. [44:42]
26. The living person he most admires: [48:05] Nell Minow.
27. The people that have most influenced his work: [49:06]
    1. Bob Monks
    2. Nell Minow
    3. Rich Koppes
    4. The Gilbert brothers.

Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

You can follow Evan on social media at:

Twitter: @evanepstein

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/epsteinevan/ 

Substack: https://evanepstein.substack.com/

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Music/Soundtrack (found via Free Music Archive): Seeing The Future by Dexter Britain is licensed under a Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License

In this week’s podcast, Christine Benz details what investors should have on their radar for mid-year portfolio reviews, Sarah Bush highlights three individuals awarded for Investing Excellence, Jackie Cook breaks down the basics and importance of proxy voting, Ben Johnson discusses how fund fees have contracted in recent years and Russ Kinnel shares his favorite foreign large value funds.