Tag Archives: affirmative action

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Feeling Good

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Most people engage in a regular activity whether it is paid employment, charitable work or just a participation in a hobby or an association.

For me this very broad calassification could be playing golf regularly, traveling or going to work at a physical or mental job.  What I am refering to is how you spend the bulk of your time.

How do you Feel?

When you think about your prime activity,  the thing you spend the majority of your time doing, does it elicit positive thoughts?  Just to clarify,  you might spend a significant part of your days sleeping (maybe even a thirds) this question is not about that.

This is not about frustrating moments in a point in time but the overall feeling you get when thinking about the way you spend most of your time.

If what you do is not making you happy overall you should consider a change.  Broadly this will be one of three things (these are generic descriptions)

  • Pick another activity, that is stop your current one (i.e., quit your job, swim instead of golf and so on).
  • Change the way you feel about the activity.  Simply put happiness is an internal feeling you own, check out why you think the way you do and change your mind.
  • Change the things that are bothering you (e.g., take golf lessons so you get lower scores, ask your boss to help solve the things bothering you, manoeuvre things so the obsticles are removed.

What ever you choose to do, do something.  Don’t worry, be happy.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Equity Quotas

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Many of the companies in my stock portfolio have fiscal years that match the calendar year.  For  these companies the books close on December 31st.

This means the companies annual meetings largely fall in late March and April.  In March  their associated proxy servers  arrive for my review and proxy voting if I don’t plan to attend the meeting ( which I largely don’t)

For me March and April are a busy time as I review all these proxy circulars and vote.  Many companies allow shareholders to put proposals to the meeting (subject to various conditions).

MEDAC, a Quebec based shareholder activist group had two very interesting political proposals this year, one with Scotia Bank and one wit BCE ( Bell Canada Enterprises)

I have reviewed over 20 of these proxy circulars so far this years for the various companies in our portfolio so just finding two odd ones is not bad.

I do note though that almost every company had an executive compensation proposal from shareholders – without exception management recommend shareholders vote no to these.  This is the same overpaid management that benefits from these compensation policies – a future post topic.

Pay the Quebec Government More Taxes

This was a proposal from MEDAC  for the Scotia Bank annual meeting.  Seriously.  I own the shares to make money not pay more taxes.  (Interestingly MEDAC tried to get this one in at BMO’s meeting too but cooler heads prevailed and it was cancelled.)

More Women in Senior Management

Hopefully it is clear from my other posts I am a huge supporter of equality and diversity.  Affirmative action not so much.  I would hypothizise that most women would only want a senior position on merit anyway.  Affirmative action sends the wrong message to everyone.

BCE management agree with me thank goodness and recommended voting no.