Forum Home Page [see Broadridge note below]

 The Shareholder ForumTM`

Fair Investor Access

This public program was initiated in collaboration with The Conference Board Task Force on Corporate/Investor Engagement and with Thomson Reuters support of communication technologies. The Forum is providing continuing reports of the issues that concern this program's participants, as summarized  in the January 5, 2015 Forum Report of Conclusions.

"Fair Access" Home Page

"Fair Access" Program Reference

 

Related Projects 2012-2019

For graphed analyses of company and related industry returns, see

Returns on Corporate Capital

See also analyses of

Shareholder Support Rankings
 
 
 

 

 

For the subsequent report of the Dell special committee's decision not to explore the invitation presented below, see

 

 

For a printable copy of the report below and its referenced letter, click here.

 

Forum Report: Fair Investor Access

Dell Example of Supporting Management Responsibilities

for Investor Information

The proposed buyout of Dell[1] interests many investors who have participated in past Forum programs addressing valuation controversies,[2] as well as participants in the current “Fair Investor Access” program who are concerned with the issues raised in a recent Forum report – distributed, coincidentally, the same day as the news of Dell’s plan – addressing the sources of information relied upon for investor decisions.[3]

Responding to these interests, and considering the question presented in last week’s report about how the Forum can most effectively support the responsibilities of corporate managers as a primary source of investor information, I sent a letter yesterday afternoon to the chairs of Dell’s board and its special committee inviting their leadership of a Forum project to prepare an independent, peer-reviewed valuation report for the benefit of shareholders:

The letter was copied to both of the large shareholders of Dell that had publicly stated their opposition to the proposed terms, inviting their advice to guide Forum plans for the project. Of course, all Forum participants are encouraged to offer advice.

I will welcome your questions as well as your suggestions about this special project, and look forward to reporting on its progress.

GL – February 15, 2013

Gary Lutin

Chairman, The Shareholder Forum

575 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10022

Tel: 212-605-0335

Email: gl@shareholderforum.com


 

[2] For examples of past Forum attention to shareholder interests in valuations of proposed transactions, see the programs addressing Providian Financial Corporation (2005) and The Bear Stearns Companies (2008).
 

This Forum program was open, free of charge, to anyone concerned with investor interests in the development of marketplace standards for expanded access to information for securities valuation and shareholder voting decisions. As stated in the posted Conditions of Participation, the purpose of this public Forum's program was to provide decision-makers with access to information and a free exchange of views on the issues presented in the program's Forum Summary. Each participant was expected to make independent use of information obtained through the Forum, subject to the privacy rights of other participants.  It is a Forum rule that participants will not be identified or quoted without their explicit permission.

This Forum program was initiated in 2012 in collaboration with The Conference Board and with Thomson Reuters support of communication technologies to address issues and objectives defined by participants in the 2010 "E-Meetings" program relevant to broad public interests in marketplace practices. The website is being maintained to provide continuing reports of the issues addressed in the program, as summarized in the January 5, 2015 Forum Report of Conclusions.

Inquiries about this Forum program and requests to be included in its distribution list may be addressed to access@shareholderforum.com.

The information provided to Forum participants is intended for their private reference, and permission has not been granted for the republishing of any copyrighted material. The material presented on this web site is the responsibility of Gary Lutin, as chairman of the Shareholder Forum.

Shareholder Forum™ is a trademark owned by The Shareholder Forum, Inc., for the programs conducted since 1999 to support investor access to decision-making information. It should be noted that we have no responsibility for the services that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., introduced for review in the Forum's 2010 "E-Meetings" program and has since been offering with the “Shareholder Forum” name, and we have asked Broadridge to use a different name that does not suggest our support or endorsement.