Arlington, VA — ACI joined a coalition in support of the Stop Woke Investing Act (S. 3179). Introduced by Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Mike Braun (R-Ind.), and Ted Budd (R-N.C.), this bill aims to restrain the shareholder activism that has taken ahold of annual proposals and voting behaviors. The process has become infiltrated with Environmental Social Governance (ESG) issues, focusing on climate and diversity. Such superfluous matters have no relevance to a company’s financial performance. ACI published a more detailed report last month.
The Stop Woke Investing Act lays out specific changes the Securities and Exchange Commission can make to facilitate a much more productive proposal process. The act proposes rules that will not only streamline the process but will steer priorities from irrelevant matters to those that focus on company governance and general operating procedures.
Policy analyst Kristen Walker states, “This bill is a great step in the right direction to make changes in the proposal process, which is currently being used to advance an array of social goals. Businesses are being overburdened with extraneous issues outside the scope of their operations. Companies have fiduciary duties to all their shareholders, not just a select few, and as such should be focusing their resources on improving company productivity.”
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