Fifth Analyst Call

A group of institutional investors recently publicly proposed that U.S. public companies should host "a dedicated conference call" for institutional investors focusing exclusively on corporate governance matters, as reflected in a company's annual meeting proxy statement. The group of investors, which is predominantly international in flavor but includes T. Rowe Price and Walden Asset Management, is referring to the proposed call as the "Fifth Analyst Call" and is comparing the call to the traditional four quarterly earnings calls. The call would follow the public filing of the company's proxy statement for the annual shareholders meeting, but would precede the meeting by 10 to 15 business days. According to the group, goals of holding such calls would include: