| Author | Source |
|---|---|
| u/StonkU2 |
Hi Stonk, I will be happy to respond to your request below;
… for our Euro ape friends, many are still hitting resistance from their brokers on voting - can you provide maybe 5 bullet point steps they can do to maximize their voice and rights? Something I can post that really drives home the concrete measures they can take?
First. I want to make clear to the Euro apes that Europe is way ahead of the U.S. in many important corporate-governance matters - like Internet data-privacy rules, gender diversity on corporate boards and, especially, on the need to buy-in shares to settle fails to deliver. But yes, when it comes to European, and Asian-country performance too on voting U.S. shares, many of their systems and procedures are highly convoluted, confusing, creaky, leaky and smelly - and often “fail to deliver” the votes in time for Shareholder Meetings. Extra attention to “proxy plumbing” is required - as it is here in the U.S. too.
Here are my tips to assure that our votes will indeed be recorded at Shareholder Meetings. And please note that many of the tips are equally applicable to U.S. holders who find their votes lost in limbo, whether accidentally or by design:
First, make sure that you did indeed own the shares on the “record date” for the Meeting - per the confirm brokers send when you buy shares through them, and which proves you are a share owner…
If you are eligible to vote - and have not received proxy material and a proxy card or “voting instruction form” - call your contact at your bank or broker immediately to demand that these voting materials be sent to you by overnight mail. (Unfortunately, your “contact person” - and his or her contact persons too - whether in Europe or in the U.S. - typically know NOTHING about proxy plumbing - much less who to contact within their company to get the job done. So be prepared to persist - and to “make noise” until your legitimate demands are met. * If you are told that you are ineligible to vote because your shares are in a margin account - as some apes have apparently been told - cancel the margin provision if you can, and demand the voting materials. (You can also move your account to a better-equipped broker or bank, as many apes say they’ve done, but you’d need to do it before the record date.)
I noted that several commenters suggested demanding a stock certificate - which, if you can accomplish this before the record date, would make you a “registered owner” - and much more likely to get the voting materials you are entitled to. But, sad to say, in addition to the timing issues, most brokers charge exorbitant fees to send you a stock certificate ($50 to $300 or more) - supposedly to “cover their costs.” But this is a highly automated process so their rationale is basically BS - and is designed to literally lock you in as a “customer.”
There IS a way around this too - and a better way - IF you are prepared to persist - and that is to instruct your bank or broker, or custodian to “DWAC” your shares to the transfer agent, which will literally “De-Whack” the barriers to voting. Most brokers will play dumb - and sometimes BE dumb - but this system is widely used by brokers to receive shares that are sold upon the exercise of stock options - so whack away at them until they do as you ask.
** I tried hard to keep my tips to five, but there is yet another set of proxy plumbing issues that make it well-nigh impossible for many share owners to vote on time; In the U.S. we adopted a “Notice and Access” system that permits issuers to send you a “Notice” about the upcoming Meeting - but which forces YOU to drop what you are doing and go to a website to see the material - and then, typically, to go to another website to vote. So be sure to be on the watch for these “Notices” - and to follow through if you want to vote. Also, there will be information on how to assure that you will always get paper copies of the materials mailed to you if you insist - and as you have the right to do as a share owner.
Always remember: ”VOTES HAVE VALUE”….  Carl
🚨🚨 EDIT: Read the Full Transcript and Digest for Carl Hagberg’s AMA here!