U.S. activists complain that virtual shareholder meetings let companies silence them

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Justin Danhof has used annual shareholder meetings to question companies on social issues for the last nine years.

FILE PHOTO: An empty Grand Ave in downtown is seen during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease , in Los Angeles, California, U.S., August 13, 2020. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Danhof is not alone. Investors faced obstacles, such as not being able to ask questions or not having their inquiries addressed, about 55% of the time in a sample of 88 virtual shareholder meetings held this year and reviewed in a Hebrew University of Jerusalem study published this month. Yet many activists focused on environmental, social and corporate governance issues say the digital format can make it hard for them to hold companies accountable, given that Wall Street’s big institutional investors get access to top executives all year long.

She said she also posted her question on social media to attract attention but has yet to receive an answer from AbbVie. The New York State Common Retirement Fund, overseen by DiNapoli, voted against the re-election of directors sitting on the governance committees of AT&T Inc and Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s boards this year for restricting investor participation at their virtual meetings.

 

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activists or just big whiny complainers

You mean like a virtual presidential campaign?

That’s the whole point of all of this covid craziness is to separate them further from the regular ppl and to make us serfs again

This highlights the need for a change to stakeholder focus instead of shareholder focus.

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