Annual general meetings have been getting increasingly raucous. Expect them to be chaotic in 2024

Today, company annual general meetings (AGMs) are conducted mostly as virtual shareholder meetings (VSMs). On the screen, there is a mix of dark-suited board and executives, employees rehearsed to ask specific questions or second motions, retired personnel counting on continued dividends, a few favorably disposed institutions, and media ready to cover any conflict or news.

Annual meetings are not just a legal obligation but also the most visible interaction between boards and shareholders. According to Swatika Rajaram, the SVP of proxy at leading global VSM provider Broadridge Financial Solutions, ” Companies have hosted thousands of VSMs in the last several years … as they provide greater shareholder participation and allow investors with time constraints or travel restrictions to virtually participate and vote from anywhere through multiple digital channels. Additionally, they lower travel and meeting costs, as well as the carbon footprint.”

In short, VSM helps everyone. However, activists and gadflies that may own a single share of stock are at the ready, seeking to be the center of attention and perhaps even disrupting the meeting.

In recent years, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) directives have centered on issues emphasized by the current administration and media coverage. Unfortunately, social issue crusaders are jumping on this bandwagon–and they will remain active, before and beyond this spring proxy season.

Navigating an increasingly complex and digital world

AGM questions should not be a surprise. They are not hard to preempt. You just need to know where to look.

Today, most…