Hot Issues Archives

US Senate to investigate securities lending

Obscure securities lending practices have been a cause for concern for the governance community in recent years as the ability to recall shares at short notice can negatively impact investors’ ability to vote at general meetings.

The US Senate is …

Regulators help investors who help themselves

The British, or should that be the English, and in particular those living South of the M25, have developed a bit of a reputation in recent years. Well probably many reputations. What we’re thinking of is their inclination to be …

US proxy reform: It’s completely broke, please fix it!

“The investing community desires change”. Not something we weren’t aware of, surely? However, when it’s a summary of the almost unanimous response to the most comprehensive regulatory review of the US proxy system the SEC has undertaken in 30 years, …

Investors staying off the radar

The recent concept release on the US proxy system has certainly brought some interesting challenges and concerns to the debate. A recent set of concerns from an investment advisor provoked some thoughts at Manifest about privacy, identification and equal treatment …

UK to investigate take-overs, long termism, better governance

Vince Cable, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business used the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference to launch an an investigation into possible failures of market and corporate governance which have discouraged a long-term approach to investment. The paper, …

UK companies to be protected from protracted bids

The UK’s M&A regulator, The Takeover Panel has concluded that the regime for hostile bids needs revision. Calls for a radical overhaul of the British approach to takeovers were made following the heated Kraft/Cadbury deal earlier this year.

The Panel

US business group sues SEC for enhancing shareholder rights

While the Securities & Exchange Commission is busy with its implementation of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, business lobby groups are attempting to derail attempts to give the owners of US corporations similar rights to those …

US Proxy Plumbing – the lobbying gets serious

Just as the governance community is beginning to feel it might explode if another consultation comes its way, the battle for regulatory attention over the parlous state of the proxy system is hotting up in the US.

Computershare, the global …

Annual director elections – is there another way?

The debate around comply or explain as a concept took an interesting turn last week when three of the UK’s largest pension fund investors publicly broke ranks on the issue of annual director elections. In a letter published in the …

Fair corporate suffrage is an important right that should attach to every equity security
Source: United States Congress, 1934

There’s no small irony that the first shareholder voting regulations were introduced in the aftermath of ‘The Great Crash’. Now, another