SEC Approval of Exxon Proxy Voting Plan Ignites Debate

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In approving a novel plan by Exxon Mobil to let its retail shareholders automatically side with management on proxy votes, the SEC has given corporate executives a leg up in their long-running efforts to quash activist investors. How big a boost, however, is now the matter of intense debate.

The commission’s sign-off, issued in a no-action letter yesterd…