Activist Investing

Hi all,

I was thinking about this notion of forming an activist investor group which has been circulating in this community for a little while. To this day I think it is still unclear what that might look like, how to do it "properly", etc.

Perhaps, at least at this stage, we don't even need a formal group or organization at all, perhaps we just need this community that we already have to take a set of actions in this direction.

For one thing, in my opinion at least, there is no online public community space better than this Lemmy instance to get started on this. This Lemmy instance is owned and operated by DRS'd shareholders of GME and is not beholden to outside influence.

I see no reason why we can't use these very discussions on this Lemmy instance, and elsewhere, to determine precisely what it is that we want to propose to the company, and to then proceed to formally make that proposal.

Here is rough plan of action that we GME investors could take without having to create a formal "group" entity:

1. Determine first what it is exactly that we want to propose to the company. For example, there are already some great proposal ideas such as from this post by Chives

• Move to have Computershare act as custodian for IRAs
• Revise the contract of the DirectStock plan
• Issue a bulk of shares to sell directly to investors
• Request that GameStop insiders hold their shares in pure DRS
• Request GameStop to consider becoming their own transfer agent
• Request GameStop to introduce pro reward incentives for registered shareholders

2. Once we know what we want to propose, create a formal proposal document that addresses, in detail, some or all of the proposal items we want. Or perhaps, create separate documents, one for each proposal idea.
3. Put the proposal documents on a website. It could be any website, e.g. it could be the DRSGME.org website, it could be an entirely new clean website with nothing in it except for a single page with links to each of the proposal documents.
4. Eligible shareholders from the community that meet the formal proposal requirements then proceed to individually propose to the company to review the proposals located at the specified website. E.g. it might go something like: "I propose that GameStop reviews the 6 proposal documents found at gme2023communityproposals.org"

At that point, GameStop receives some number of proposal requests from the community, maybe 5, 10, or 100, or more individuals submit such a proposal and each one is identical or very similar to one another, each of them directing the company to review the proposal documents at the target website.

GameStop confirms on their end that each individual that makes a submission in fact meets the requirements and would then have to address the proposed ideas.

Please critique this idea and offer any suggestions you may have.

WhyDRS Shareholder Proposals Guide

This is far too many characters above Lemmy's post limit - so please check out this resource on WhyDRS.org! Would be glad to talk in more detail in the comments. Let's work with our companies and make them better!

Advocacy and Corporate Governance: An Overview

Corporations constantly make decisions about operating procedures, corporate compensation, environmental policies, and much more. As a registered shareholder, you have a legally protected avenue and platform to communicate directly with boards of directors. Your proposal can open a conversation about an issue which matters to you.

Publicly traded U.S. securities are run by an elected board of directors, which have a fiduciary duty to make decisions and propose plans which benefit investors. The company has distributed ownership among investors, including beneficial shareholders maintaining an account with a Broker, and directly registered shareholders which hold shares in their name on the issuer’s ledger with the Transfer Agent.

As we have been on this journey for the last 2 and half years we have accumulated knowledge regarding market structure, hedge fund influence, loopholes utilized to manipulate price, and how to own shares in our own name. We have been beaten down by corrupt mods and have had to migrate a few times during this journey. We are harassed and mocked by corporate propaganda channels. We have been confined and our voice limited but our will to change how our market works will not be diminished. We need to find new ways to fight against Wall Street and expand our voice. One of the ways to give more credibility and resilience to the movement is to create an Activist Investor Group.

An AIG is a group of investors or in many cases hedge funds that utilize their share power to restructure corporations in a variety of ways. One such way is by using their shares to change the board of directors. This allows the group a direct voice in decision making in the company and how policies should be made. Most of these activist investor groups have been facing off against climate change in order to change company policy regarding its impact on the environment. I have compiled a small list of Activist investor groups so you can read what they do and the impact they have.

Climate Action 100

SOC investment Group ShareAction

Follow This

As you Sow

“Follow This submitted another resolution, this time asking Shell to align its emission targets with the Paris climate agreement. Shell directors call this proposal a ‘fundamental misunderstanding’ and ‘unreasonable’, but 6% of shareholders voted in favour of it, double that of 2016.”

“Our money should power social progress. We hold shares in some of the biggest companies and every year, we organise questions at annual general meetings (AGMs) to challenge them on the issues that matter. We also gather together individual and institutional investors to co-file resolutions on specific topics at companies to demand change.”

There are many instances where Activist Investor Groups write a letter to the board and cause changes in the board makeup.

At Kohl’s an AIG with 10% of the shares cut down board nominees.

SpartanNash had to fight off an AIG with 5% of shares that sought to replace board members.

Exxon, Chevron, Shell all have faced off growing AIGs that seek to reform the company from the inside. With their collective power they continue to combat greedy wall street execs in order to gain their own power within the company. When searching about AIG there are many articles that present them in a negative light. Including this article about Exxon where the climate group was able to gain a couple board seats.

Activist investing is seen in a poor light by many as you are challenging the status quo. MSM put out articles bashing groups that look to utilize their share power to change a company. Many consulting groups put out guides on how to protect against activist investors. As we have experienced, directors are a way for hedge funds to control a company bringing it down from the inside. What if a group of investors that band together in common interest does the same thing? With a collective might we will be able to have a direct say in a company and influence decision making including decisions such as an NFT dividend.

Here is an article by Harvard Law that talks about shareholder Activism. CFI also discusses what shareholder activism is and even mentions Carl Icahn. The SEC released a paper called: “Proxy Access Reform: The SEC Makes It Potentially Easier for Shareholders to Nominate Directors” regarding shareholders and their role in appointing directors. There does not seem to be much material regarding shareholder groups as most of activist investors are either a hedge fund or a person such as Carl Ichan and Ryan Cohen. If we decide this is a path to take we will be trailblazing a new frontier for shareholders.

With an AIG we as shareholders will be able to engage directly with Gamestop and the Board. We will be able to put forward proposals and resolutions communicating our concern. With an AIG it will be a front that can be used to directly engage with the SEC or any other institution on a legal front.

This then leads us to the questions of how do you create such a group? One way is to create a non-profit, then will have to register the group, create branding and a name. Lawyers will have to be involved especially when setting up the bylaws and organization. Where will funding come from and how do we determine the leaders of the group?

We are creating something that has never been done before so we should be innovative in our structure and governance. We have repeatedly seen bad plans and bad actors take advantage of us and hinder any progress. Is there a decentralized structure that can be created? What safeguards can be created to prevent institutions from joining in?

More research is needed and I encourage you all to dig into what is possible with an AIG and how we can best utilize it.

Hi all,

I've seen discussions bubbling up about starting an activist investor group, for the apparent purpose of creating a sort of legal entity of some kind that would enable GME investors to more effectively make proposals to our company and that the company would be required to address the proposals to some degree.

I like the idea but frankly I have no idea how such a group would function.

Some simple internet searches don't immediately provide clear answers, this doesn't seem to be a super common idea. Just looking to ask some questions and try to get some information to flesh this idea out a little bit.

• What would be required to start such a group?
• How does an activist investor group govern itself?
• What would a governance structure look like?
• How does somebody become a member?
• How do members get their interests represented in the group?
• Would there be voting mechanisms?
• Are lawyers required?
• What other costs would be involved?
• I presume the group would be based in USA. Which country or jurisdiction would this group reside in and what implications would this have for other international members?

I don’t expect anyone to necessarily know the answers to all these questions, this is just what initially comes to my mind. I like the idea, it sounds promising. But a certain amount of education will be required. I will try and do some research of my own but hoping others might know more than me and can maybe enlighten me a little bit a bout this.

1. GME should work with Computershare so they (CS) can serve as a custodian for IRA’s. Ally and Mainstar have both walked back their support for DRSing IRAs. Computershare acting as a custodian as part of their contract with GameStop should allow for a cleaner solution.

2. Revise the contract w/ Computershare w/ respect to their DirectStock plan, and provide more transparency to investors about both the ownership hierarchy of shares in the plan and the degree to which DirectStock shares are utilized for 'operational efficiency' - often 10 to 20%

3. Issue a bulk of shares available for direct purchase by investors, similar to Home Depot's Depot Direct. This would allow for GameStop to sell shares directly to investors, and would allow purchases to be "Pure DRS" without further steps or actions.

Edit - Adding in 4, 5, and 6 from my comments on this post.

4. request that GameStop insiders (or at least board members) must hold their shares in Pure DRS, especially for vested shares that cannot be sold for a while.

5. GameStop should consider becoming their own transfer agent when their contract with Computershare is up for renewal.

6. Introduce pro reward incentives, like additional percentage off, for verified stockholders on their ledger.

A post from someone (bellweirboy) on Lemmy here that talks a little about it here.

As well, there's the nascent discussion about goals an AIG may have. Two of those goals would be

• 1. GameStop working with Computershare to serve as a custodian for IRAs
• 2. revise the contract w/ Computershare w/ respect to their DirectStock plan; possibly moving to something that automatically cuts out the DTCC (for example, Home Depot has something along these lines for the shareholders who purchase directly with Computershare)

#Popping media bubbles.

Getting out there and popping people's media bubbles is valuable - and this helps with that.

People go along daily lives living as they do and browsing the internet as they do and buying the same stuff... from the same stores as they do. As we all do.

Often all that browsing and buying results in blinders and blind spots.

This here speaks to those issues and people - to our selves and friends and to those like us and those maybe not like us.

To the point: printing "business cards."

You can use your own designs or these

• https://ibb.co/NYGH1qV

• https://ibb.co/ZfCKp1J

• https://ibb.co/5WnHxyv

• https://ibb.co/9WksmNL

• https://i.postimg.cc/x1tGPXzw/drsgmeredux.jpg

• https://ibb.co/L54kjzG

• https://i.postimg.cc/RZVKqvDX/drsgmeredux2.jpg.

Those last three designs are a little old, fwtw, and I wouldn't recommend using them, but will leave for, possibly, creativity ideas. The middle ones I made just for this post. The first two (as front & back) are what I've been having printed lately.

A few ways to use them:

• go to a big-box stores and slip then into any box/product you can find; almost ALL boxes have a way to slip a small piece of paper/thin cardboard into and it's fucking intriguing when you open a new item and there's something like this in there.

• the more well-to-do parts of town may be a better target market, as you're more likely to find people with expendable cash, though any store will work

• on that note: specific products to consider (there are many others): lightbulbs, safes, eggs, diapers, beer, other security, lighting, family-type products...

• the beer/alcohol sections of grocery stores andor liquor/beer stores are really good; easy to place cards, generally, and people drinking may be more likely to talk and learn

• in the same vein, but going to higher-dollar department stores (Niemann Marcus, Nordstrom, etc...) and putting them into breast pockets, pant pockets, etc... of clothes hanging on the rack (higher statistical probability of whales shopping in these type of stores)

• inside free newspapers/magazines that are left out at the entrances to stores or, say, sitting on the counter at some ice cream shop

• leave in restrooms on urinals, in stalls, on mirrors; gives people something to read while nature calls or washing hands; may take them to read at the table or at home bored

• may be best to go on the weekends when more people are shopping to give you a little cover; either way ve completely comfortable and non-chalant; even if you were to be "caught" it's not a problem, like, at all

• use your imagination... there are countless possibilities. Anywhere you feel comfortable and out-of-the-eye-of-sauron where you can slip cards into is good.

Edit: I've found bizay.com to be the most inexpensive. It's way cheaper than VistaPrint which was surprising. It's about 1/3 of the cost. If you are spending $1 at VP, you're spending $0.30 at Bizay, I'd say. For $30 or so you can get 1000 cards, at least.