Investor protection and corporate governance Archives

Blog: FIRM Act – Why It Should Worry You, And The “Debanking” Distraction

Recently, some of the most politically influential industries — fossil fuels, firearms, private prisons, crypto — have been crying foul about so-called debanking, accusing banks of unjustly denying them financial services because of supposed political biases. This is part of a larger misinformation campaign that is hijacking civil rights language to frame powerful industries as victims of discrimination and achieve their deregulatory goals.

Aerial view of a winding highway through a forest

Blog: State Pension Power- How State Policymakers Can Fight Against Attacks On Workers’ Retirement Funds.

Public pensions hold trillions of dollars of workers’ capital — wages earned by teachers, firefighters, nurses, and public workers who keep our society running. But this money is under attack.

Blog: Attack on Shareholder Rights is a Red Herring Concealing Power Grab by Asset Managers, Private Equity, and Oligarchs

The Business Roundtable’s most recent diatribe against a modest shareholder check on the power of corporate boards and executives came just in time for Tuesday’s House Financial Services Committee hearing on proxy advisors — firms that provide research and proxy voting recommendations to shareholders.

News Release: Consumer and Investor Protection Organizations Denounce the Weakening of Shareholder Rights by Delaware Legislature

The passage of Delaware Senate Bill 21 – the Billionaires’ Bill – endangers the retirement security of millions of families across the country. A coalition of consumer and investor groups including Public Citizen, Americans for Financial Reform, and the Consumer Federation of America opposed the legislation as did the largest retirement funds in the United States.

Blog: Tech Oligarchs Overhaul Delaware Corporate Law in Bid to Consolidate Power Over Us

While Elon Musk attacks federal agencies’ ability to protect us from the worst excesses of corporate power, a little known Musk initiative sailed through the Delaware legislature this week. Delaware’s corporate law drew Musk’s ire when its well-regarded Court of Chancery sided with Tesla shareholders and tossed out his $56 billion pay package.

News Release: Coalition of Consumer and Investor Protection Groups Strongly Oppose Billionaires’ Bill in Delaware

On February 17, 2025, Delaware lawmakers proposed amendments to the state’s corporate law through Senate Bill 21 or the “Billionaires’ Bill” that would enable billionaires like Elon Musk to raid corporate treasuries at the expense of working people like teachers and construction workers counting on their pensions for a secure retirement. This Billionaires’ Bill was drafted by Elon Musk’s lawyers in secret and far outside the usual procedure for formulating changes to the state’s corporate law, which governs around two thirds of the corporations in the S&P 500.

News Release: State Policymakers and Labor Leaders Urge States to Deploy Their Pension Power To Grow a Strong and Fair Economy

In a webinar hosted by Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) and The Horizon Project, leading labor and state officials laid out strategies to protect public pensions from federal attacks and deploy state pension power to grow a strong economy for retirees, workers, and the public.

News Release: New Report Provides Roadmap for States to Protect Pensions from Federal Threats

State policymakers and pension officials should use all the tools at their disposal to protect public pensions from federal threats and safeguard their ability to make investment decisions that promote retirement with dignity and economic security, according to a new policy roadmap released by the Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund.

News Release: SEC Proposes Two Rules To Improve “ESG” Transparency and Standardization

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Proposals by the Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent misleading use of labels on funds that weigh environmental, social and governance factors and to require critical disclosures about these funds’ strategies are a welcome step toward protecting investors who choose these types of investments.

News Release: Groups Petition SEC to Abandon Rules Sanctioning Share Buybacks

The groups urged the agency to abandon old rules that govern stock buybacks in light of their rampant abuse by corporate America since their enactment in 1982. Last year, the massive tax cut passed by Congress and signed into law by President Trump gave companies war chests of unprecedented size to boost share prices through stock buybacks.