Each year many shareholder proposals are offered for inclusion in the annual meeting materials so as to be submitted to a vote of the shareholders. Assume you have a significant investment in Corporation X and the following proposals are included in the proxy materials. Which would you vote for and why?
a. A recommendation that any bonus and performance compensation awarded to executives be paid out evenly over the four years following the grant of the bonus and only if the performance goals continue to be met.
b. A recommendation that the standards for all bonus and performance compensation be benchmarked against the performance of the company’s market competitors, requiring superior performance for the award of any bonus.
c. A recommendation that shareholders be permitted to vote on the selection of the state in which to reincorporate the company.
d. A recommendation to the nominating committee that each year it include one “public director” selected in consultation with one or more nonprofit organizations whose missions encompass one or more significant activities of the corporation.