Responding to Shareholder Activism - Is More Shareholder Engagement the Answer?

In years gone by, companies followed a standard playbook for shareholder engagement that included investor meetings, quarterly conference calls, and annual investor days. While the SEC’s adoption of Regulation FD, more than a decade ago, required companies to adjust their playbooks to ensure compliance, the shareholder engagement playbook has stayed mostly the same. As public company boards of directors continue to grapple with the surge in shareholder activism, companies are being pressed to revise their approach to shareholder engagement. Not only are activist investors seeking increasing levels of interaction with corporate officers and directors but so are institutional investors who have become increasingly vocal and assertive as well as increasingly more receptive to engaging with activists.