Washington, D.C.  –  Lev Bagramian, Senior Securities Policy Advisor at Better Markets, issued the following statement in response to the Securities and Exchange Commission’s partisan vote on a shareholder proposals’ rule:

“Today, the Trump administration’s SEC once again fed the swamp monsters and did the bidding of corporate America and their lobbyists by taking away the ability of shareholders to hold big corporations and their management accountable for their actions.

“The SEC’s action amounts to a policy of collective punishment. Using as an excuse the 15 or so entities that file disproportionately large numbers of proposals, the SEC has decided to punish and disenfranchise the corporate rights of millions of shareholders. This action will harm Main Street investors and is a radical, ideologically driven policy that deliberately ignores the documented value of shareholder proposals.

“The SEC’s action specifically targets proposals that have been gaining support from shareholders, such as those related to environmental, social and governance-related policies of a company (ESG proposals). This action comes even as shareholders—who co-own the companies they invest in—are learning how to more effectively engage companies and exercise their corporate suffrage.

“The rule should have been withdrawn given that it was crafted in reliance upon, and promoted through, a demonstrably fraudulent public engagement and comment process, and that the alleged costs (that the rule is supposedly alleviating) are utterly unsubstantiated and have no basis in fact.”

###

Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies – including many in finance – to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.com.