Dual-Class Capital Structures

In a speech given early in the week at Stanford University's Rock Center for Corporate Governance, titled, "Mutualism: Reimagining the Role of Shareholders in Modern Corporate Governance," Commissioner Stein addressed a broad range of topics, including cybersecurity issues and shareholder engagement.  Commissioner Stein also commented on dual class capital structures.  Commissioner Stein, not speaking on behalf of the Commission, noted that in her view, dual class capital structures were not democratic and created a disconnect between the interests of shareholders and control parties.

Later in the week, Commissioner Jackson, speaking at Berkeley and making his first public remarks since joining the Commission, commented on perpetual dual class structures.  Commissioner Jackson cited statistics showing that the trend was on the rise, noting that 14% of the 133 companies that listed on U.S. exchanges in 2015 had dual class voting structures, compared to 12% in