Funny how companies use all form of duress to get shareholders...

Funny how companies use all form of duress to get shareholders onto the digital platform and the company team are reluctant in losing that manipulative advantage given to them by the legacy AGM presentation fotmat.If anyone thought I was talking rubbish, read the following service provided by registry companies.

Demand that they update how an AGM is presented to minimise mischievous behaviour!

Proxy Vote Reporting

We recommend companies schedule regular updates with your share registry provider on proxy voting progress. Although nominee votes are frequently not lodged until 24-48 hours prior to proxy close, it’s important to keep a close eye on proxy reporting at regular intervals after the Notice of Meeting is lodged to gauge shareholder sentiment and prepare yourself properly for the meeting. Your share registry can provide a wide range of reports to track progress. Useful reports include:

A proxy voting summary to view current voting on each resolution. This report should include the current percentage of issued capital voted. Even if this percentage is very small in the early stages of voting, this provides a good indication of the retail shareholders sentiment as these holders tend to vote early.

Top 40 Voted – to track those large holders who have voted and ensure their voting is in line with the directors’ recommendation.

Top 40 Not Voted – This data can help initiate a communication campaign to incite those parties to vote.Proxyholders report – It’s good to know which proxyholders have been nominated to attend the meeting and whether these votes have been directed.

These people may include persons of interest to the company.When a company’s Board needs to win support for a capital raising, fend off a takeover attempt, defend itself at a requisitioned meeting or get approval for its remuneration report at the AGM, it can prosecute its case in a number of ways:

it will meet directly with its largest investors and write to the smaller ones, it wish to get the support from the professional proxy advisers who are influential in recommending how super funds and others vote and it will try to push its case their to the media.