REC issues guide to filing shareholder resolutions

The Responsible Endowments Coalition (REC) has just finished a new guide to filing shareholder resolutions that should be helpful to educational institutions as well as individuals, congregations and other groups. Here's a short excerpt:

"Shareholder resolutions allow investors to express their views and concerns about issues affecting a corporation and influence future business decisions by challenging management in a public forum.

"Filing a shareholder resolution requires little more than sending a letter to a company, but a basic understanding of how resolutions work and their potential impact is necessary for maximum effectiveness.

"To be eligible to submit a shareholder resolution, a shareholder must own either $2,000 worth or 1% of the shares outstanding in the company, whichever is less, for at least one year prior to submitting the resolution, and must continue to meet this minimum threshold through the date of the annual meeting.

"Note that a shareholder who own shares through a mutual fund cannot submit shareholder resolutions because the mutual fund itself is the shareholder of the company. However, shareholders in a mutual fund can influence the proxy votes taken by the mutual fund."

To learn more about REC or their guide to resolutions, contact info@endowmentethics.org.