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Right. "Ownership" is a really fuzzy thing; in the context of owning shares of a public corporation it gives you the right to be treated equally (in some sense
by fiatmoney 13y ago
Right. "Ownership" is a really fuzzy thing; in the context of owning shares of a public corporation it gives you the right to be treated equally (in some senses) with other shareholders, standing for shareholder lawsuits alleging breach of fiduciary duty, and most importantly the right to select the board and vote on certain proposals.
No voting rights takes away the most important component.
- nickff 13y agoIt has not been shown that voting is the most important and effective means of maintaining accountability. There is a long-standing debate as to whether voice (voting) or exit (the ability to exit a long position) is more important.[1] [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit,_Voice,_and_Loyalty
- dirtyaura 13y agoSurely the most important thing of share ownership of public corporation is that you are eligible to future dividends?
- Tuna-Fish 13y agoGoogle pays no dividends, and by all the public information they have ever released, they never intend to.
- dirtyaura 13y agoApple never paid dividends under Steve Jobs but now they pay dividends.
- sireat 13y agoIt should be noted that Apple doesn't have this "minority shareholders are sheep with no say" structure and thus was quite open to pressure from them(Icahn et al). Personally, I am all for activist shareholders in a public company and proxy fights. Google and Facebook are heading down a path to stagnation at some point. What then?