New election rules imposed by U.S. regulators have many firms worried about shareholder activists becoming members of company boards.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently finalized revisions to corporate director election rules by mandating that companies must provide shareholders voting through proxy a “universal ballot.”
According to outgoing rules, shareholders voting via proxy (like email or traditional mail) used to receive two sets of ballots with rival sets of candidates proposed by directors and activists. The shareholders then have to choose one of either two sets. Only shareholders who attended the firm’s annual meeting in person could vote for candidates from both sets….