Proxy solicitation and proxy advisory services with Sodali, a global leader in corporate governance

Every public company holds a minimum of one shareholder meeting annually. Furthermore, it may also need to organize additional shareholder meetings to discuss and approve some selected and unexpected items, for example a new class of securities. Management often encourages shareholders to vote by proxy, to ensure that ownership interests are fully represented even when all shareholders are unable to attend the company's annual meetings face-to-face. In some other cases a group of shareholders directly try to get the authorization of the other members to vote on their behalf: this situation is named proxy solicitation. A proxy solicitation could be accompanied by a proxy statement, a special document prepared to inform shareholders about material facts and company matters related to the vote question. Issues included in a proxy statement can deal with proposals for new inclusions in the board of directors, information about directors' remuneration, information on bonus and options plans for directors, and any kind of declaration made by company management.In the past 2 decades the proxy advisory industry has quietly grown extremely powerful. Fifteen years ago, no one really mentioned shareholder relations, proxy solicitation and proxy advisory as much as we do now, but during last years of changes about company regulation, governance and management conception has been modified, and activism of shareholder community has begun to raise. Shareholder activism is the manner in which shareholders can assert their power as owners of the company to guide its behaviour. As a result of considerable costs of a proxy solicitation, in terms of resources, money and time, activist shareholders should carefully consider whether this kind of strategy is good for that particular situation.Sodali, an independent and conflict-free consultancy, recognized leader in corporate governance, shareholder transactions and institutional investor relations, provides shareholder meeting services. Sodali starts the strategic planning of the meeting 3-6 months before the date. Sodali operates at global level, but his proxy solicitation services are customized to meet the requirements of local regulations and business practices in each nation. If shareholders will be asked to vote on controversial matters, Sodali gives support to solve the difficulties and handle proxy advisory firms, mainly focusing on communication aspect to correctly inform shareholders about any aspect of the proxy statement and question of the agenda.