Today, the Securities and Exchange Commission
announced that it will hold a February 19 public roundtable discussion on improving the proxy voting process. The roundtable, which will be held at the SEC’s Washington, DC headquarters, will focus on universal proxy ballots and retail participation in the proxy process.
The roundtable will be divided into two panels:
- The first panel will focus on the state of contested director elections and whether changes should be made to the federal proxy rules to facilitate the use of universal proxy ballots by management and proxy contestants. This panel also will discuss the state law, logistical, and disclosure issues presented by a possible universal proxy ballot process.
- The second panel will focus on strategies for increasing retail shareholder participation in the proxy process. This panel will discuss how technology – by providing better access to information or easier means of voting – might affect retail participation. In addition, this panel will discuss whether the format of disclosure could be improved to increase the engagement of shareholders and how the mechanics of voting could be improved to affect retail shareholder participation.
The roundtable will be open to the public and webcast live on the SEC’s website. Presumably, as with most other SEC roundtables, public comments may be submitted prior to the event.
More details on the panelists and agenda are forthcoming.