Preserving Shareholder Rights Protects Workers, Retirees, and the Integrity of American Capital Markets

March 26, 2026

Posted by Elizabeth Steiner, Oregon State Treasurer

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins recently reiterated his preference to loosen corporate accountability standards at a conference hosted by the Council of Institutional Investors. As the fiduciary for a state pension fund, I believe that weakening shareholder engagement creates risks that beneficiaries and state governments cannot afford.

Stories of CEOs raking in multimillion-dollar bonuses while middle-class workers struggle to pay rent or save for retirement have become all too familiar. Those disparities didn’t arise overnight but they have sharpened investor and public scrutiny of corporate governance. That’s why the federal administration’s effort to weaken shareholder rights is so concerning. Shareholders must have a voice in corporate governance given the capital they have invested in American businesses.

As Oregon State Treasurer I am charged with managing a diversified institutional portfolio of more than $148 billion in assets under management, including the Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund (OPERF), one of the largest public pension funds in the country.  Treasury staff invest these assets to achieve strong, risk-adjusted returns for beneficiaries. Public employees’ and retirees’ financial security depends on the long-term health of the assets we help steward.

We take our shareholder stewardship role seriously. During the 2024 proxy voting season Oregon Treasury voted in 5,333 meetings on over 50,305 individual items. The proxy votes we cast and the shareholder rights that underpin them are tools we use every year in service of the workers and retirees whose money is entrusted to us.

In December I urged SEC Chair Paul Atkins to reconsider recent SEC changes that restrict shareholder rights. In a letter co-signed by half a dozen state financial officers, we warned Chair Atkins that changes to the long-standing processes that protect shareholders would “suppress shareholder governance, diminish corporate transparency and accountability, and create risks to profitability and reputation for companies—further undermining the confidence that has attracted global investors to American firms and markets.”

Thanks to the efforts of shareholders, most S&P 500 companies now publish environmental, social, and governance disclosures that investors use to understand long-term risk and strategy. For example, shareholder engagement has codified “say on pay” votes. It has encouraged wider adoption of independent board leadership and strengthened oversight practices improving accountability for long-term investors. It has prompted hundreds of companies to disclose political spending with corporate funds and data on sustainability efforts.

For large institutional investors such as OPERF these votes are about value. Pension funds, asset managers, and other institutional investors representing millions of workers and retirees — including those whose pensions and savings we manage here in Oregon — advance governance improvements because these activities directly affect risk and value over decades.

Investors are owners. CEOs and corporate boards work for owners. We shouldn’t trade the shareholder voice for managerial autonomy. Weakening the proposal process by stripping the SEC of its oversight role, raising burdensome thresholds, or shifting governance to a patchwork of state laws would reduce transparency and leave investors with fewer tools to manage risk.

What’s at stake is safeguarding shareholder democracy by maintaining the SEC’s oversight role. Removing the Commission as referee would tip the balance toward management and leave investors with fewer practical tools to hold companies accountable.

American investors deserve a voice at the table. Let’s make sure it continues to be heard.

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