The Shareholder Forum

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The Shareholder ForumTM acts as an independent, non-partisan moderator of programs to provide both investor and corporate participants with access to information and free exchanges of views relating to shareholder capital commitment and voting decisions.

Initiated in 1999 by the New York Society of Security Analysts to address the professional interests of its members and to serve a public education purpose, the Shareholder Forum has continued since 2001 under independent management with conditions of participation that support the fair and open resolution of issues. Participation in programs is free to all investors as well as to corporate managers and others concerned with their interests.

Whether addressing a company-specific decision or a broadly applicable marketplace practice of public interest, all Shareholder Forum programs are pragmatically focused on defined issues that are relevant to investor decisions. Requests for a program can be initiated by any investor or corporate manager, and will be considered based on an issue’s importance to objectives of long-term wealth creation.

 

Completed Programs

This page provides links to sections of the Shareholder Forum website for publicly open programs that have been completed or suspended, listed by categories of issues addressed and showing the year of initiation.

For the public education programs conducted during 1999-2001 with the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) using case examples of investor interests in Amazon.com, Chesapeake-Shorewood Packaging, Dun & Bradstreet and National Presto, see NYSSA Forum Cases.

Determination of Investor Interests

Executive Compensation Issues

Restoring Order

Value Enhancement Opportunities

 

 

 

 

Determination of Investor Interests

 

Special Project

for Shareholders of

Siemens AG

(2010)

 Survey of the company's investors to determine what information they needed to vote for a

settlement of claims against former directors

and for Germany's new "Say on Pay"

This project was conducted in cooperation

with the Forum's independently managed German

affiliate, Aktionaersforum AG.

For surveys of broader investor samplings conducted as part of current or recently completed public interest programs, see:

 

December 14, 2009

Investor Voting Criteria

for Compensation Issues

October 6, 2010

Investor Communication Priorities

for Voting Decisions

 

 

 

 

 

 

Public Interest Programs

Options Policies

(2006-2008)

 A cooperative marketplace process

to develop commonly accepted principles for

the authorized use of shareholder capital in

equity-based compensation.

Included the 2006-2007 special project

addressing proposals of "Advisory Voting"

on executive compensation ("Say on Pay")

Reconsidering

"Say on Pay" Proposals

(2008-2010)

Considering how currently proposed

advisory voting on executive compensation

might serve the public interest in enterprise

competition and capital allocation.

See also the current public interest program

addressing related communications issues:

Electronic Participation in Shareholder Meetings

 

 

Company-Specific Program

Forum Program

for Shareholders of

Verizon Communications

(2007)

Analyzing Management Confidence in Strategies

 Learning how executive compensation

relates to business performance targets as

a means of determining management's view

of probabilities

 

 

 

 

 Examining alternative terms by which a creditor

can assume control of an insolvent company,

fairly and without crisis-generated suspensions

of marketplace rules

The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc.

(2008)

 

 

 

Value Enhancement Opportunities

The cases below were selected to demonstrate the processes by which investors, acting independently in a common interest, can influence value enhancing changes in corporate governance.

 

 

 

Establishing Corporate Integrity

 Monitoring management corrective actions

required to reduce enterprise risks and

associated stock pricing discount

Computer Associates International

(2004)

See also the

2001 CA Forum Program

 

 

Independent Analysis of Proposed Merger

Special project addressing need for

independent sources of information that

will be relied upon for investor decisions

Providian Financial Corporation

(2005)

 

 

Replacing Unresponsive Directors

Demonstrating the practical means of

winning support for the replacement of directors

who fail to respect shareholder interests

Lone Star Steakhouse

(2001)

Willamette Industries

(2001)

 

 

Resolving Competing Shareholder Interests

Satisfying commitments to shareholder

constituencies with differing investment objectives

North State Telecommunications

(2010)

 

 

Rights of Public Investors

in Family Controlled Companies

 Addressing value enhancement opportunities

associated with a controlling shareholder's

responsiveness to public investor interests

Crowley Maritime Corporation

(2004)

Dover Motorsports

(2009)

Farmer Bros. Co.

(2002)

Telephone and Data Systems

(2008)

 

 

 

 

Inquiries, requests to be included in email distribution lists, and suggestions of new Forum subjects may be addressed to inquiry@shareholderforum.com.

It is the policy of Forum programs to be open to all shareholders of a subject company and to any fiduciaries or professionals concerned with their decisions, according to the Forum’s stated "Conditions of Participation." In all cases, each participant is expected to make independent use of information obtained through the Forum, and participation is considered private unless the party specifically authorizes identification.

The information provided to Forum participants is intended for their private reference, and permission has not been granted for the republishing of any copyrighted material. The material presented on this web site is the responsibility of Gary Lutin, as chairman of the Shareholder Forum.