June 19, 2018
While I appreciate the 2018-2022 Draft Strategic Plan’s focus on helping Main Street investors make "informed investment decisions,” there is nothing on our role in governing the companies we own. The SEC has done nothing to promote dissemination of discussions and analysis of corporate governance issues to retail shareholders and mutual fund investors.
In fact, the SEC played a key role in the demise of MoxyVote.com, which allowed retail shareholders to vote proxies in a way similar to how institutional investors vote. One of the only free resources focused on proxy voting for Main Street investors is ProxyDemocracy.org but it is hanging on by a thread.
The SEC’s Strategic Plan to focus on helping investors make informed investment decisions is like helping parents decide on which country their baby should be born in. What about helping children be proper citizens?
The role of an investor does not end once an investment is made. Each investor has a right to help govern the companies they own a part of. While the SEC has done a relatively good job of protecting the governance rights of Main Street investors, it has done little or nothing to help the average investor to be an informed shareholder when it comes to voting their proxies or other such governance activities.
James McRitchie
Shareholder Advocate
Corporate Governance
http://www.corpgov.net