TheCorporateCounsel.net

January 21, 2022

Corp Fin Updates Annual Meeting Guidance (Again)

As if you needed another sign that life isn’t “back to normal” quite yet, Corp Fin has once again updated its guidance for conducting shareholder meetings in light of COVID-19 concerns. The section on “presentation of shareholder proposals” now encourages issuers to continue to provide shareholder proponents or their representatives with the ability to present their proposals through alternative means, such as by phone, during the 2022 proxy season.

We blogged about the original guidance way back in March 2020, as well as updates that the Staff made in April 2020. The guidance was also updated last year in regards to the 2021 proxy season. It would have been great to share this new update with my blog yesterday on annual meeting formats, but oddly Corp Fin’s announcement didn’t arrive in our inboxes until mid-morning yesterday. Based on the poll I ran yesterday, it’s looking like many meetings will continue to be “virtual only” this year – but don’t rule out the outdoor “foam party” option, which is making a strong showing of 7% of votes (more than hybrid!).

Liz Dunshee