Proxy Vote
Categories: Board of Directors, Stocks
See: Proxy.
You own the stock. The common kind...the kind that elects the Board of Directors and votes on major initiatives. There's a giant annual meeting where those votes happen. But you don't wanna be there. You just wanna "phone it in," or at least proxy it in...as in: you're approximately there, but not really.
So you give your lawyer, or a firm that does this thing professionally, or another representative, your signed consent to vote your shares as you and/or they see fit. Your vote will count. But you won't be there to submit it.
Why does this format exist? Well, 100 years ago, travel and even basic communications were tough. Not every investor who wanted a say in things could appear wherever that election was being held. So it made sense to appoint virtual versions of that voter so that, more or less, all the votes could be heard. Or counted. Or whatever.
Go back to your golf game; everyone's waiting for you on the tee.
Related or Semi-related Video
Finance: What is a proxy?8 Views
Finance a la Shmoop. What is a proxy? Well it's kind of an approx-i-mate. As in, it's
not exactly the way dogs mate. Not all of them try to text their goodies to each
other. In the land of Finance, a proxy is simply a substitute.
Someone's vote, for example, can be given to another party, who then acts on behalf
of the person, who was going to vote in the first place. But really couldn't care [coffee drive-thru]
less about the outcome, so she went to Dunkin Donuts instead. That's how
most votes are taken in public companies. Proxies are sent out to shareholders, who
then designate their wishes, to then be submitted to an individual, physically
present at the vote, who then you know votes and that's it.
We'll leave you with final warning. Beware of any incoming texts you may get
from a German Shepherd. [Phone with dog text]