new proxy forms

TodayI received in the mail a new set of proxy forms for voting on the SOA, together with a remonder about how important it is to vote.

Does anyone else think it is strange that Hardman is going to such lengths as calling up shareholders and sending out reminders to get them to vote? I was under the impression that HDR had a very high institutional shareholding and that this proportion had probably increased dramatically in the past few weeks as small shareholders sold out and large institutions bought in. I had been thinking that the small shareholders would be irrelevant in the scheme of things and would have been treated as being peripheral to the whole operation.

So why is Hardman so concerned about us? Is there the potential for the SOA to be voted down by a few institutions and some disgruntled shareholders, or is HDR management just wanting to make us feel warm and fuzzy about them?