Corporate annual meetings – normally staid affairs – could be more dramatic next year thanks to two developments: the universal proxy ballot and the growing clout of retail shareholders. Both factors will put a premium on effective communication by companies and boards. Last week, the SEC approved a new rule requiring companies to use a universal proxy […]
Investors who follow climate risk have had a dizzying few weeks. Beyond the reports about record-setting floods in the Midwest and predictions of a climate apocalypse, there were climate-related shareholder votes at two big oil companies and a progress report on corporate climate disclosures. Important as they were, these events held little good news for […]
These days it seems a U.S. official can mention climate change only when they’re outside the country. A case in point is William Hinman, who heads the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and addressed climate risk at a conference in London. Mr. Hinman spoke about the disclosure of complex risks, and he mentioned climate risk […]
Can a public company have a phantom director and refuse to answer questions about it? Lululemon Athletica thinks so. But will it prompt big investors to take a tougher stand on director elections?
Portraying yourself as a victim can be a great communication strategy. It deflects attention and can even arouse sympathy. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has been playing the part masterfully ever since a volatile stock market exposed flaws in one of his company’s biggest products. But is BlackRock the victim – or the villain?
Goldman Sachs released its quarterly results last week over Twitter, abandoning the news distribution services it had used since becoming a public company in 1999. It’s welcome news for Twitter, which could use the boost, but not for Businesswire and PRNewswire, the two giants in the news services industry. Silence from the SEC suggests more […]
As a general rule, it’s a bad idea for a money manager to utter the words “insider trading” in any context. Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is learning that lesson as the SEC begins an investigation of whether his hostile bid for Allergan violated the law. Indeed, Ackman’s public description of the deal now carefully […]
The SEC has just opened the door for broad public marketing of investments from start-ups, hedge funds and private equity firms, breaking a taboo that has been in place for 80 years. No, we’re not likely to see Henry Kravis pitch buyout funds on late-night television alongside ads for pizza and discount furniture. But some […]
It’s rare to see guidance from a regulator that results in less paperwork. But that is the likely impact of new guidelines from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on the use of social media by asset management firms.
Although it is Wall Street’s biggest deal advisor, Goldman Sachs is not advising on the mammoth $28 billion takeover of Heinz. But the firm is involved in the widening investigation about suspicious options trades that came from a Goldman client account in Zurich just before the deal was announced. Goldman isn’t accused of wrongdoing, but […]