{
  "id": 1154439,
  "title": "US SEC to keep hands off shareholder proposals, worrying activists",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/14/us-sec-to-keep-hands-off-shareholder-proposals-worrying-activists",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-08-14T18:16:05.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Finance",
    "slug": "yahoo-finance",
    "url": "https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/us-sec-keep-hands-off-181605677.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On Friday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it would permanently cease judging whether companies may exclude shareholder resolutions from votes at annual meetings. This decision leaves investor activists concerned about their diminishing influence. Under the previous policy, the SEC issued \"no-action\" letters, which were responses to corporate requests for assurance that the agency would not take action if executives skipped votes on shareholder proposals. These proposals often addressed critical issues like carbon emissions or workforce diversity. Executives argued that such measures could micromanage operations or focus on ordinary business matters that should not warrant investor attention. The SEC's latest move aims to allow its Division of Corporation Finance to focus on a broader review of filings. While the change has not caused significant impact thus far, with 66% of known proposals placed on proxies as of June 15, compared to 59% last year, many remain dissatisfied with the current state of affairs. SEC Chairman Paul Atkins criticized CEOs for their \"lackadaisical\" attitude towards tools like the new policy. Investor activists, such as Tim Smith from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, expressed frustration, stating that investors may have to seek alternative options if a company decides to unilaterally omit a resolution without sufficient arguments. Marc Lindsay, managing partner of corporate governance at consulting firm Jasper Street Partners, noted that the change increases litigation risk for companies excluding proposals. Though rare, litigation can lead to favorable outcomes for proponents, and the potential for increased litigation may worsen in 2027.",
  "summary": null,
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}