New Report: Proxy Monitor Finds an Increase in Shareholder Proposals in 2013 Proxy Season

New York, NY — As the 2013 proxy season comes to a close, the Manhattan Institute’s Center for Legal Policy releases the fourth proxy season update in a series of reports and findings tracking annual shareholder proposal trends. Author James Copland analyzes current data from the Manhattan Institute’s unique Proxy Monitor database and tracks proposal information from the 250 largest publicly held companies in the U.S. as ranked by Fortune magazine. Copland notes that union pension funds appear to be seeking negotiating leverage with company management. Rather than focusing on maximizing shareholder value, these funds are acting in furtherance of their political interests.

The composition of shareholder proposals has shifted: 42 percent of shareholder proposals in 2013 have involved social or public policy issues not directly related to corporate governance or executive compensation—up from 37 percent across the entire 2006 to 2013 period. Yet, only 7 percent of shareholder proposals received the support of a majority of shareholders, the lowest success rate of any year in the Proxy Monitor database, dating back to 2006.

The significant focus of some union pension funds on social or public policy questions, such as corporate political spending or lobbying and health-care reform, raises the question of whether these funds’ activism is intended to advance a political agenda rather than to increase shareholder returns.