11 Nov THE SHIFT TO VIRTUAL AGMs – NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY; SANTA IS ON HIS WAY!
Welcome to this week’s business and media intelligence update.
THE SHIFT TO VIRTUAL AGMs – NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY
Virtual AGMs, which were all the rage during pandemic times, are becoming a permanent part of Australian capital markets but not everyone is happy with this development.
A growing number of fund managers and proxy advisors are urging investors to vote down resolutions put forward by listed companies asking shareholders to give them the ability to hold virtual-only AGMs well beyond the pandemic.
One of those managers is Geoff Wilson, the high profile, media-savvy founder of Wilson Asset Management, who says he is “appalled’ by the shift to virtual AGMs.
According to Wilson, while remote AGMs provided a good way of maintaining governance practices during the peak of the pandemic, there are inherent problems with the format that are bad news for shareholders.
Over 20 ASX firms have put resolutions to their AGMs seeking to change their constitutions to allow for virtual meetings, although some of them – Qantas, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank – have since backed down after shareholder feedback.
Read more here.
SANTA IS ON HIS WAY!
Assuming we can fix all those supply chain issues, Christmas trees will be surrounded with an abundance of gifts this year with pent-up savings and demand from consumers predicted to supercharge spending.
At least that is the feedback from a consumer shopping report released this week by consulting and management firm Accenture.
The report forecasts that the average Australian consumer will spend $246 more on Christmas gifts this year than the average $819 spent in 2020.
Older Millennials are estimated to spend the most: an average of $989. Single adults living alone intend to spend the least: an average of $550 each.
The Christmas spending rush is also likely to occur much earlier than usual, with the report revealing that 42 per cent of shoppers are concerned about supply shortages and another 40 per cent of Australians have already started filling their Christmas stockings.
Read the full report here, or quickly run to Target to grab that Lego set before it’s too late.
GOODBYE CHAINSAW AL, HELLO LISTENING TIM
Remember the days when celebrity CEOs had nicknames like “Chainsaw Al”, “Neutron Jack” or our own “Max the Axe”?
No more, according to The Economist. Gone are the days when customers, shareholders (and the media), glorified tough-nut chief executives – men (they were always men), hired to make tough decisions, regardless of what anyone thought.
Nowadays, the magazine argues, chief executives must mollify politicians, respond to activists and dampen social-media firestorms. It helps if the boss comes across as a relatable member of society, not a volcano-dwelling villain.
Read all about it here.
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