MSN Money: Shareholder Spring? Protesters Roil Annual Meetings

The Fiscal Times/MSN Money recently ran a story on how shareholders and protesters are paying more attention to annual shareholder meetings.

“ In Charlotte, city officials braced themselves for the biggest turnout of protesters yet, as Bank of America held its own annual meeting Wednesday and hundreds of protesters gathered outside the banks’ headquarters.”, writes Suzanne McGee.

“To a growing number of investors, the definition of acting in the best interests of a company’s shareholders is changing, slowly but steadily, as is that of what constitutes an acceptable return on their investment. It’s no longer enough to generate outsize returns if they come at the expense of the environment, human rights or other “social responsibility” issues. More investors are putting money into funds like those run by Trillium Asset Management, which in turn is urging support for “no political spending” shareholder proposals like that coming up for debate today at Bank of America”, McGee continues.

The entire article can be read here