Despite expectations that the 2008 proxy season would be a banner year for shareholder activism amid the financial crisis, experts say investors’ winter of discontent never did turn into a glorious summer of shareholder victory.
“In actuality, it was a pretty subdued season, and it appeared that shareholders were still kind of in shock and unwilling to make a lot of waves,” says Carol Bowie of the proxy advisory firm RiskMetrics Group. “This year they’ve had time to absorb the implications of the tremendous loss in portfolio values.”
