Article re controversy over eliminating uninstructed broker votes for director

By Cydney Posner

The WSJ "Broker Votes': Opponents May Win One" today discusses the continuing controversy surrounding the NYSE's proposal to categorize proposals for the election of directors as "non-routine," with the result that, in the absence of instructions from beneficial owners, brokers would not have discretionary voting authority on that matter. (See posting of 10/24/06, 9/26/06, 6/7/06 and 5/9/06) The article reports that some groups have instead advocated other changes, such as having brokers vote uninstructed shares in proportion to those cast by individual or "retail" investors, a practice followed recently by Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab.

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