February 1, 2013
Please consider this message as my comment on the rule concerning disclosure of political spending by corporations.
I urge the SEC to adopt a rule requiring corporations to disclose their political expenditures. I have my retirement IRA invested in several mutual funds that hold the stock of major corporations. I want to know if the companies in my portfolio are using corporate funds in political activities such as campaign committees or in the post-Citizens United action committees that are not required to disclose contributors in FEC filings.
I recently changed my investments after learning that the head of one company was giving large political contributions against my interests. He was supporting groups that opposed President Obama, and I believed that if he had been successful it would have meant a decrease in the earnings and capital value of my investments.
It's in the financial interest of shareholders for the SEC to require publicly traded corporations to publicly disclose all their spending on political activities -- how much a given corporation spends on politics (directly and through intermediaries), and which candidates are being promoted or attacked.
Thank you for considering my views.
Sincerely,
George Alderson