SEC Looks at the Proxy Plumbing

Yesterday the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a “Concept Release on the U.S. Proxy System.” The Release followed an earlier public hearing in which the Commissioners, led by Chairwoman Mary Shapiro, spoke of the need to possibly modify a voting system that has remained largely untouched for more than 30 years.

The Concept Release, a dense document of more than 150 pages, addresses a wide range of issues including over and under voting, conflicts of interest by proxy advisers and ways in which retail investors can be induced to vote.While this is not the stuff of financial reform a la the Dodd-Frank bill currently slogging through Congress, the outcome of this regulatory exercise may be profound.

Here is a link to the Concept Release document.

As I pour over this document, I will share with you my observations about this Concept Release. Stay tuned.