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Governance

News

SEC Amends E-Proxy to Increase Participation

Investor alerts and new spotlight page will improve education efforts.

Donor-Advised Funds Aid Haiti

Much of the relief being sent to help earthquake victims in Haiti is coming via donor-advised funds.

Hedge Fund Investors to Tread Far More Carefully in 2010: Execs

Executives expect individual investors to exercise greater market discipline.

For PIMCO, Bill Gross Is the Answer

Gross takes charge in effort to shore up investor confidence.

AIG Suit Dismissed

Financial planner had accused AIG of acting like a 'massive hedge fund.'

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Articles

Companies Brace for Active Proxy Season

This year's proxy season could be very turbulent for corporate boards of directors, thanks to increased shareholder activism and new rules that increase proxy disclosure. "Companies need to reach out and have good relations with their shareholders," said Amy Goodman, a partner and co-head of the securities regulation and corporate governance practice at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. "This is going to be a very difficult proxy season. Boards should be attuned to where potential problems may be."

403(b) Group Seeks Common Language

An industry group developing best practices for 403(b) retirement plans is coming closer to streamlining these plans to make them even more similar to 401(k) plans, but first they will have to get everyone to agree to speak the same language. Leaders say the SPARK Institute's work on 403(b) best practices is coming along smoothly, thanks to the cooperative efforts of approximately 50 participating institutions. The latest update, version 1.04, fixes many of these communication issues by requiring a standardized reporting format, which it hopes most institutions will adopt by this July.

Extreme Makeover: 401(k) Edition

Investors are about to test drive 401(k) plans with a 21st Century whole new look and feel. The Department of Labor is promising streamlined rules for 401(k) advice that plan sponsors may actually use (see "Week in Review," page 4). The government is looking into the possibility of offering annuities or other lifetime income options in defined contribution plans.

Estate Tax Expiration Reveals Opportunities

NEW YORK - Financial experts think 2010 could provide many interesting opportunities in the realm of wealth transference, particularly with the temporary, one-year expiration of the federal estate tax and reduction of the gift tax. Thanks to the expiration of the estate tax on Jan. 1, beneficiaries of people who die this year don't have to pay federal taxes on inherited estates. Unless Congress takes action this year, the tax will be reinstated in 2011 to 2001 levels of a $1 million exemption and 55% tax rate above that. President Barack Obama has proposed reinstating the tax at 2009 levels of 45% on anything above $3.5 million, possibly retroactively.

SEC Tightens Money Fund Rules

The Securities and Exchange Commission last Wednesday adopted several amendments to Rule 2a-7 governing money market funds that aim to reduce risks by increasing credit quality, improving liquidity, shortening maturity limits and requiring the disclosure of a fund’s “shadow” net asset value. The Commission fell short of requiring a floating NAV, but said it may still consider such a move in the future, as well as eliminating the disclosure delay on holdings and the use of credit ratings agencies.

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