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Fund Democracy Initiatives: Proxy Voting Disclosure
On March 27, the Office of Management and Budget approved the SEC's proxy voting disclosure rule. The Investment Company Institute had asked OMB to reverse the rule, which requires funds to disclose to their shareholders how they vote proxies. Fund Democracy applauds OMB's rejection of the ICI's unprecedented assault on the SEC's independence and on a rule that is critical to help restore investors' confidence in the financial markets. Proxy Rule-Related Documents: Joint Letter to the Office of Management and Budget (March 6, 2003) signed by: Fund Democracy Proxy Disclosure Petition and Related Documents Fund Democracy Comment Letter on SEC Proposal (October 21, 2002) Fund Democracy Comment Letter on SEC Proposal # 2 (December 8, 2002) Fund Democracy's Opening Statement at Pax World Press Conference (Oct. 22, 2002) Archive Tape of Pax World Press Conference (Oct. 22, 2002) Fund Democracy's Opening Statement at Pax World Press Conference (Jan. 23, 2003) Background On September 20, 2002, the SEC proposed a rule that would require mutual funds to disclose their proxy voting policies and procedures, and make public their record of votes on proxies of the portfolio companies. Despite intense industry opposition, the SEC adopted the rule on January 31, 2003. This rule proposal responds to rulemaking petitions filed with the SEC by the AFL-CIO (Dec. 21, 2000) (see the press release), the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (Jan. 18, 2001), and Amy Domini, founder and Managing Principal of the Domini Funds (Nov. 27, 2001) (see the press release). The AFL-CIO and Teamsters petitions also requested that the SEC adopt a rule prohibiting misleading fund names (which the SEC adopted on January 17, 2001) and require more frequent, online disclosure of mutual fund portfolio holdings (which the SEC proposed on December 18, 2002). The new rule furthers a longstanding effort by America's investors to hold publicly-traded companies accountable for their corporate policies. The explosive growth of socially conscious mutual funds demonstrates that fund shareholders want to know if their funds' "philosophy of ownership fits with the investors's," says the AFL-CIO's Bill Patterson. On October 22, 2002, Pax World sponsored a press conference to discuss the SEC's proposed rule and to encourage investors to express their support for the rule. You can listen to the archive tape of the press conference or review the text of the of Fund Democracy's opening statement. The SEC adopted the rule on January 31, 2003. This page was last updated on March 28, 2003. |