Shareholder Voting, Business Ties to Voters and Disclosure Before Shareholder Meetings

This thesis explores how shareholders vote in companies and how connections between companies and shareholders affect this process. It finds that companies with management ties to institutional investors reduce the amount of public information shared before shareholder meetings, relying instead on private communication. This shift can affect the information available to “unconnected” shareholders and influence how they vote. The thesis also reviews the regulations and practices surrounding shareholder voting, offering insights into the benefits and drawbacks of these rules. Overall, the work highlights the intricacies of corporate voting and the impact that ties to key voters have on corporate transparency.