The SEC has confirmed that it will be issuing a green paper on proxy reform later this year. Speaking at a Business Roundtable quarterly meeting last week, SEC Chairman, Mary Schapiro said: “the mechanics of the proxy process have not kept pace with current market conditions or trading practices. For this reason, the Commission will soon consider publishing a Concept Release soliciting detailed ideas about how to modernize this voting infrastructure.
We would like to hear about everything from whether the system of OBO/NOBO ownership should be changed, to whether proxy advisory firms should be subject to greater oversight (and if so, what that oversight should look like).”