President Biden to Nominate Former CFTC Chair Gary Gensler to Lead the SEC
On February 3, 2020, Olshan’s Shareholder Activism Group issued a letter of comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to its proposed amendments to the federal proxy rules released on November 5, 2019 that would condition the availability of certain existing exemptions from the information and filing requirements of the proxy rules for proxy voting advice businesses upon compliance with additional disclosure and procedural requirements. The scope of our comments is limited to the severe shortcomings of the proposed rules in terms of their practical application in the “real world” of a proxy contest. We have drawn upon our vast experience in advising on hundreds of contested solicitations to highlight the flaws inherent to the proposed rules.
On October 26, 2016, the Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 2-1 to propose to require universal proxy ballots in contested elections. Proponents of universal proxies believe that the current federal proxy regime makes it too difficult for shareholders to mix and match their votes among all candidates, thereby disenfranchising shareholders and undermining corporate governance in the United States. Universal proxies would include all management and dissident nominees on one proxy card from which shareholders would vote. Under the current rules and proxy voting mechanics, a shareholder who desires to split votes generally must attend the shareholders meeting and vote by ballot.