METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CORPORATE VOTING

• US 20100076824A1
• Filed: 12/02/2009
• Published: 03/25/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 03/11/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Folio Financial Incorporated (Goldman Sachs Group Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Folio (Fn). Inc.
• Inventors: Wallman, Steven M. H.
• Granted Patent: US 8,078,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 705/12
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/10 Tax strategies
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/12 Accounting

Abstract

A proxy voting system enables an investor with a large number of investments to efficiently manage and vote proxies. A shareholder enters preferences regarding how to vote his or her proxies into a computer system, which then screens the received proxies, automatically enters the shareholder'"'"'s preferences onto the proxy card and returns the completed proxy card to the appropriate election authority at the proper time. The system includes a central controller, a user interface for each investor, a proxy server and a manual entry subsystem, which provides an interface for those corporations that are not equipped to handle electronic formatted proxies.

Claims

1. A method for automatically voting shares for at least two different corporations comprising:

receiving by a computer preferences regarding how to vote a user'"'"'s shares in all subsequent corporate votes for all of a user'"'"'s holdings in the user'"'"'s portfolio, wherein said user'"'"'s portfolio includes shares issued by at least two different corporations;

wherein said preferences include an identification of one or more organizations whose voting recommendations are to be followed when voting the user'"'"'s shares in all future corporate votes for said at least two different corporations and, when more than one organization is to be followed, a user-specified weight assigned to each of said organizations;

automatically completing by a computer a first proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in a first corporation of the at least two different corporations in accordance with the received preferences in a first corporate vote for the first corporation;

automatically completing by a computer a second proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in a second corporation of the at least two different corporations in accordance with the received preferences in a first corporate vote for the second corporation;

automatically returning by a computer a first completed proxy card to an election authority for the first corporate vote for the first corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a second completed proxy card to an election authority for a first corporate vote for the second corporation;

wherein said first completed proxy card and said second completed proxy card are used to vote the user'"'"'s shares in accordance with the received preferences.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

automatically completing by a computer a third proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in the first corporation in accordance with the received preferences in a second corporate vote for the first corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a third completed proxy card to an election authority for the second corporate vote for the first corporation.

3. The method according to claim 2, further comprising:

automatically completing by a computer a fourth proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in the second corporation in accordance with the received preferences in a second corporate vote for the second corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a fourth completed proxy card to an election authority for the second corporate vote for the second corporation.

4. A method for automatically voting shares for at least two different corporations comprising:

receiving by a computer preferences regarding how to vote a user'"'"'s shares in all subsequent corporate votes for all of a user'"'"'s holdings in the user'"'"'s portfolio, wherein said user'"'"'s portfolio includes shares issued by at least two different corporations;

wherein said preferences include an identification of one or more organizations whose voting recommendations are to be followed when voting the user'"'"'s shares in all future corporate votes for said at least two different corporations and, when more than one organization is to be followed, a majority of said more than one organization is followed;

automatically completing by a computer a first proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in a first corporation of the at least two different corporations in accordance with the received preferences in a first corporate vote for the first corporation;

automatically completing by a computer a second proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in a second corporation of the at least two different corporations in accordance with the received preferences in a first corporate vote for the second corporation;

automatically returning by a computer a first completed proxy card to an election authority for the first corporate vote for the first corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a second completed proxy card to an election authority for a first corporate vote for the second corporation;

wherein said first completed proxy card and said second completed proxy card are used to vote the user'"'"'s shares in accordance with the received preferences.

5. The method according to claim 4, further comprising:

automatically completing by a computer a third proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in the first corporation in accordance with the received preferences in a second corporate vote for the first corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a third completed proxy card to an election authority for the second corporate vote for the first corporation.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising:

automatically completing by a computer a fourth proxy card to vote a user'"'"'s shares in the second corporation in accordance with the received preferences in a second corporate vote for the second corporation; and

automatically returning by a computer a fourth completed proxy card to an election authority for the second corporate vote for the second corporation.