Public employee champion Richard Ferlauto has launched a new advocacy group aimed at aligning shareholders in actively engaging their investments.
The Shareowner Education Network (SEN) bills itself as “a non-profit organization established to educate and mobilize citizen shareholders…[educating] investors so they understand their rights as owners and [providing] them the tools to take action at publicly-held companies they own.”
Ferlauto, who is the director of pension and benefit policy for the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME),is joined on SEN’s board of directors by a number of corporate andacademic figures, including John Wilcox, independent consultant oncorporate governance for TIAA-CREF.
SEN’s method is to build a network that connects small and larger shareholders under the common goal of improving performance at portfolio companies, including enhancing transparency, efficiency, and accountability.
SEN has penned a Shareholder’s Bill of Rights that outlines its mission: “Investments are now an essential factor in determining our quality of life. Therefore, millions of us in our daily lives, while voters, taxpayers, and consumers, are also shareowners. We have a vital collective stake in financial agents and public corporations that perform in our interest. And we demand laws and regulations that empower us to protect our assets.”