JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM): Setbacks After the Shareholder Spring

Votes at some companies have crept close to the majority mark this year. John Chevedden’s proposal demanding an independent chairman at Kohl’s Corporation (NYSE:KSS) did creep over the majority mark, with votes in favor coming to 52%. Meanwhile, Hess recently agreed to split the roles, responding to pressure from activist investor Elliott Management, which was seeking to get five of its own onto Hess’ board.

Beyond Dimon
oProxy season isn’t over, and many companies still haven’t held their annual meetings. There are plenty of proxies left to vote on proposals even beyond CEO pay and chairman independence.

There are also more victories than we might think after Dimon’s continued hold of both his titles. Maybe shareholders were only half asleep.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM) shareholders did punish directors on the company’s risk management committee; three barely gained majority votes in favor of their reelection. That’s a step in the right direction, particularly because corporate boards are a core place to demand accountability when things go wrong. Directors are supposed to look out for shareholder interests, after all.

The fact that the mere concept of taking away Dimon’s chairman title caused such a ruckus reflects a shift in the way public companies and their shareholders interact on governance issues. Shareholder proposals matter now, and have even become top headline material, and the ramifications of votes are taken seriously enough to be fodder for major debate. At one time, most shareholders barely registered the idea that voting their proxies mattered, so managements didn’t have to care, either.

The votes are in for Dimon, but it’s still just the beginning in the push for better corporate governance.

The article Setbacks After the Shareholder Spring originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Alyce Lomax.

Alyce Lomax has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase.

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