Response to SEC’s E-Proxy
shows issuers really don’t care
By IR Web Report Staff
“I strongly urge companies to
share their thoughts on the proposed [E-Proxy]
rule, because failure to hear from a large number
of issuers could send the message to the SEC
that companies don’t care…”
So ended a recent editorial by National
Investor Relations Institute (NIRI) president
and CEO Lou Thomson in NIRI’s
monthly newsletter, Investor Relations Update.
Well, Lou, if the reaction
thus far from companies is anything to go
by, issuers really don’t care.
Even though this proposal could save companies
many millions of dollars in printing and mailing
costs for proxy statements and annual reports,
only a handful have written to the SEC to support
it.
By far the most comments thus far have come
from individuals and from the printing and envelope
industry, and they are against the rule.
IR Web Report has also come out against
the proposal, saying that it is bad for investor
protection because, well, companies don’t
care about communicating properly on the Internet.
In the
letter (PDF 67 kB/6 pages)
to the commission, we cite the fact that only
11% of the U.S. companies in IR Web Report’s
survey
provide their online proxy statements in formats
that meet the needs of a wide range of users.
Why such a poor showing? It’s obvious.
Most companies don’t care about effective
online investor relations communication, especially
not when it comes to proxy statements.
Even though we don’t support the proposed
rule, we nonetheless applaud the SEC for bringing
it to the table.
Reading the proposal in detail, it is clear
that the SEC is aware of some of the problems
investors face using disclosures on the Internet.
However, they probably weren’t aware of
just how big a problem it is.
Now, through their silence, issuers have shown
them.
Read our