Glossary
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
A meeting held once a year by a company with its shareholders, where important information is discussed and where shareholders are invited to vote on issues like how much directors should be paid, or whether the directors should be (re-)elected. Most listed or public companies must hold an AGM.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
The system of rules, practices, and processes which are used to shape and guide the relationships between a company’s management, board, shareholders and other stakeholders. Corporate governance also provides the structure and systems through which the company is directed and its objectives are set, and the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
Dual-class share structures (also referred to as dual-class stock or unequal voting rights) are equity structures where a company has issued two or more share classes (e.g. Class A and Class B shares), and these share classes differ in terms of voting rights. When multiple share classes of stock are issued, the class with limited, if any, voting rights is normally offered to the general public. The classes with more voting rights are typically only offered to insiders such as company founders, executives and family members, allowing them to retain control of the company.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
Buying a share (or equity) gives the owner (shareholder) an ownership right/stake in the firm in return. The owner has the right to vote and a claim on future profits that can be distributed to the shareholders, for example through dividends. ICEV believes that equity should be equitable.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
When a company sells shares for the first time on a stock exchange (or ‘lists’) and becomes a publicly listed company. This can help companies raise capital from a wider range of investors (shareholders), enabling these shareholders to invest in company growth and support the real economy.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
This is the principle that all shareholders should have equal voting rights in public companies and each shareholder should have one vote per share. This is analogous to political democracy and the long-established ‘one person, one vote’ rule: each person’s vote is equal to every other person’s vote.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
Shareholders are granted a range of rights when they own or hold the shares of a company. The specific rights differ between legal jurisdictions, companies, and types of shares but generally include the right to vote on director elections or re-elections, and other significant matters (e.g. changes to the company’s capital structure), the right to receive dividends or other distributions from the company, the right to sell shares, the right to vote on specific corporate actions (e.g. takeovers) and the right to receive financial and other information about the company. Shareholder rights are critical to ensuring that shareholders, who collectively have the strongest interest in protecting company value on behalf of beneficiaries and clients, are able to influence the board to prevent misalignment between the interests of company management and the interests of shareholders (and therefore the end beneficiaries). As such, these rights provide an important mechanism for delivering better financial outcomes.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
DCSS give owners of certain share classes superior voting rights which, in turn, gives them voting control over a company that is disproportionate to their equity shareholding.
A single class of common stock with equal voting rights provides voting mechanisms that to ensure the board of directors remain accountable to the majority of the shareholders. This accountability is vital to ensuring that the board – and by extension the management of the company – remains aligned with the interests of the shareholders.
Boards cannot carry out their fundamental oversight purpose if capital structures are designed specifically to render founders, their favoured board members, and their favoured managers, unaccountable to the holders of a majority of outstanding shares.
Being a shareholder in a company (usually) gives us the opportunity to vote on company matters at meetings such as an Annual General Meeting (AGM). The issues we can vote on include executive pay, the election of directors, a climate change plan, and the financial report and accounts.
