Two significant trends about which shareholder proposals companies can or cannot exclude from the proxy statement are already setting the tone for this year’s proxy season—and companies need to read regulators’ response letters carefully to stay on top of developing precedents.
The Securities the Securities and Exchange Commission is not only granting fewer requests to strike resolutions based on the “ordinary business” exclusion; on a case-by-case basis, it is also signaling to companies which issues to watch out for, through brief explanations of its decisions in response letters.
