Uncategorized

Naturally, if you’re going to give a company all of your time, energy and future, you likely want that company to look just like you. You want to do something you believe in. And Google set the standard in Silicon Valley… Working for Google is a lifestyle, not just a job.  Along with Google, left-leaning Twitter and conservative-censoring…

To be diverse means, simply, to be different. But in today’s mainstream corporate culture, there’s the “right” kind and the wrong kind of diversity. Diversity of race, gender, sexuality, class, and religion are, according to corporate executives, the “right” kind, the kind we should all celebrate. And they’re right: we should celebrate the things that make us different, because our differences make us strong. But diversity of political views? Which…

For the last several years, large asset managers such as BlackRock and JP Morgan have increasingly shifted their business priorities. Instead of profit and shareholder value, it seems “environmental, social, and governance” (ESG) ratings now get top billing. At least, that’s how their public statements read. We’ve discussed at length about how ESG ratings are too arbitrary. They result in no accountability for executives in the C-suite.

Who are shareholder activists? To put it briefly, shareholder activism encompasses any activity that investors in publicly-traded companies engage in to try to force change in a corporation, including its leadership or its policies. Today, the main mechanism that shareholder activists use are shareholder proposals. While these were once an innocuous and bland means for shareholders to engage with corporate leadership, they’re now a tool. Shareholder…

Here at Shareholder Equity Alliance, our guiding principle is simple: Let business do business. When corporate bias kicks in and businesses get in the business of politics, they lose sight of their purpose. And just what is their purpose? To provide value to customers via the goods and services they sell. At baseline, when customers like what publicly-traded companies sell, their stock value increases. This is the core of letting…

America’s biggest banks have not been shy about their commitment to what they call “sustainable investing.” Wells Fargo, Bank of America, and others have made Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics key to their business models. That includes a commitment to analyzing how well potential recipients of their loans adhere to ESG metrics. What does that mean in practice? Imagine it. You need $2 million in capital from Wells…

Companies are being pushed hard into the world of political correctness through “environmental wokeness.” From endless documentation on carbon emissions, to big banks divesting fossil fuels, when will groups like Say on Climate stop demanding companies trade profit for environmentalism? Will enough ever be enough? Say on Climate, an initiative from the Children’s Investment…

When it comes to proxy voting in annual meetings, to quote a Mr. Bob Dylan, “the times, they are a-changin.” In an effort to reduce conflicts of interest and increase transparency, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted in July 2020 to make amendments to the way proxy advisory firms operate and provide to clients. These rules will go into effect for the 2022 proxy season. …

In an effort to mold society and shape public opinion as they see fit, business leaders are increasingly bold in their political stances. From Dick’s and Shopify’s gun control changes in 2018, to Colin Kaepernick’s Nike campaign, to HBO Max and other streaming services removing politically-defined “sensitive” content…

Previously, we’ve discussed the importance of retail shareholders being active and informed voters when it comes to shareholder proposals. With annual meetings just around the corner, there is another major issue shareholders should know about before casting a ballot. We need to know what we are voting on, but we also need to know who we are voting for.  Shareholders own…