Abstract:
A method, system, and program product for the electronic delivery and distribution of an electronic solicitation on shareholder issues from an issuer to a plurality of shareholders. The method includes receiving an electronic solicitation message that provides shareholder access to solicitation content; tagging the electronic solicitation message with at least one parameter to ensure the electronic solicitation message is available only to the shareholders of the issuer; and enabling the shareholders to access and view the solicitation content anonymously in order to conceal each shareholder&#39;s identity.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 11/189,261, filed on Jul. 26, 2005, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,207,487 which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/591,248, filed on Jul. 26, 2004. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates generally to the solicitation of votes from shareholders, bondholders, and others having a stake in governing corporate or mutual fund affairs. More particularly, the present invention pertains to methods and systems for communicating directly with shareholders and other stakeholders about to solicit votes regarding particular corporate affairs, including matters of corporate governance and securities transactions. 
   Currently, if a corporation or mutual fund issuer of securities wishes to affect the outcome of a vote for its annual or special meeting, they hire agents commonly known as “Solicitors” to contact the company&#39;s voters and deliver a message for solicitation purposes. Typically, this contact is initiated by either mail or telephone. Less frequently, the corporate issuer may perform these activities without agents by placing their message on their corporate web site. As an alternative, or to supplement this activity for best results, the corporate or mutual fund issuer will purchase mass media assets (e.g., newspaper ads, radio and/or television time) that they believe will reach and affect the voting position of their target audience, namely their voters. In the case of contested elections, dissident voters will act in the same manner as the corporate issuers in attempting to influence the voters. 
   Institutional voters may have significant relationships (commercial banking, investment banking or pension fund management) with the companies whose stocks or bonds they hold in their investment portfolios. The ‘push’ solicitation methodology currently employed, whereby a voter is contacted directly by or on behalf of a corporate issuer, is fraught with potential conflicts of interest. These conflicts can arise because solicitation activity directed at the institutional voter in the traditional fashion opens the possibility that the business interests (either to gain new or retain current business from the company in question) could influence the voting decision. 
   Other than corporate websites, there are no electronic or Internet-based methods and systems which can act as a “one-way mirror” for information in a ‘pull’ scenario; that being that the information is available to the voter but is only usable if a deliberate action is taken to retrieve and act upon it in private and without undue influence by the corporate or mutual fund issuer. 
   Thus, corporations and mutual fund companies have been searching for a solution to the inefficiency and expense associated with postal mail and telephone communications to voters related to meetings, corporate governance, regulatory or compliance matters, mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, written consents, proxy contests, or simply dissemination of information to voters. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention is directed to a business process using electronic means, to include multiple current and evolving Internet technologies, to provide and disseminate solicitation information on behalf of corporate stock and bond issuers (foreign or domestic) or dissident shareholders for the purpose of affecting the outcome of voting on corporate events, be it proxy voting for annual meetings, special meetings, takeovers, proxy fights or other voting events as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or equivalent foreign entities. The process and method also includes the electronic delivery of communications that apprise or educate voters of any event or circumstance that may materially affect their investment in the corporation or mutual fund company. 
   The present invention utilizes the Internet (or similar electronic distribution methodology) as a portal for corporate or mutual fund issuers or their dissident shareholders to submit corporate governance solicitation into the system for viewing by investors or their agents. 
   The present invention provides a portal for other stock, fund or bondholders, who have received a username and password (or similar), which gives them the opportunity to view and/or listen to the solicitation via the Internet (or similar electronic distribution methodology) in the privacy of their office, home or other location without other direct contact from the issuer or its agents. Such rights to view and/or listen to such material will be granted only to those stock, fund or bondholders who have voting rights for that particular security. 
   The present invention responds via paper or electronic reports to the corporate or mutual fund issuer showing “up to date” voting results so that the company or fund management can assess the momentum of the vote. This information allows them to be proactive if the vote is going against them by providing additional solicitation material as many investors will change their votes if presented with compelling evidence of a proxy proposal&#39;s benefit to them. 
   The electronic delivery and distribution process and method provides a cost effective, personalized and timely communication via electronic means of text, audio or streaming video messages from corporations and mutual fund companies or other constituents while attending to an important need by voters to maintain their confidentiality as voters and as receiving solicitation. 
   In one aspect of the invention, a method is provided for the electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation on shareholder issues from an issuer to shareholders. The method includes receiving an electronic solicitation message that provides shareholder access to a solicitation content; tagging the electronic solicitation message to ensure the electronic solicitation message is available only to the shareholders of the issuer; and enabling the shareholders to access and view the solicitation content anonymously in order to conceal each shareholder&#39;s identity. 
   In another aspect of the invention, a system is provided for the electronic delivery and distribution of a solicitation on shareholder issues from an issuer to a plurality of shareholders. The system includes a processor executing a plurality of components including components for receiving an electronic solicitation message that provides shareholder access to a solicitation content and for tagging the electronic solicitation message to validate that a shareholder is authorized to view the solicitation content. This system also includes a user interface that enables each authorized shareholder to access and view the electronic solicitation content anonymously. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     These and other advantages and aspects of the present invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following detailed description of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, as follows. 
       FIG. 1  illustrates a block diagram of the electronic solicitation system in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 2  illustrates a flow diagram representing the overall sequence of process steps and activities in an exemplary embodiment the present invention. 
       FIG. 3  illustrates a flow diagram of the sequence of steps of the electronic solicitation process in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 4  illustrates a block diagram providing additional functional detail of the software modules and functions of the Proxy Voting Platform in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 5  illustrates a block diagram showing the software modules and components of the Proxy Voting Platform and application in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 6  illustrates a display of the initial screen presented to a user after system login in an exemplary embodiment of the present invention. 
       FIG. 7  illustrates a display of a meeting list screen presented to a system user after the user selects the “meeting list” link on the screen of  FIG. 6 . 
       FIG. 8  illustrates a display of a voting screen presented to a system user after the user selects a particular “meeting” link from the meeting list of  FIG. 7 . 
       FIG. 9  illustrates a display of a video issuer message screen presented to a system user after the user selects the “Issuer Message” link on the voting screen of  FIG. 8 . 
       FIG. 10  illustrates a display of a text issuer message screen presented to a system user after the user selects the “Issuer Message” link on the voting screen of  FIG. 8 . 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
   The following description of the invention is provided as an enabling teaching of the invention and its best, currently known embodiment. Those skilled in the art will recognize that many changes can be made to the embodiments described while still obtaining the beneficial results of the present invention. It will also be apparent that some of the desired benefits of the present invention can be obtained by selecting some of the features of the present invention without utilizing other features. Accordingly, those who work in the art will recognize that many modifications and adaptations of the invention are possible and may even be desirable in certain circumstances and are part of the present invention. Thus, the following description is provided as illustrative of the principles of the invention and not in limitation thereof since the scope of the present invention is defined by the claims. 
   Definitions 
   Agents—Organizations acting on behalf of corporations, mutual fund companies, custodian banks and brokers, institutions, voters. For example, solicitors and transfer agents act on behalf of corporations and mutual funds or other interested parties such as dissident shareholders or opposition groups while voting agents act on behalf of institutions. 
   Beneficial Owners—Shareholders and bondholders (voters) who have their stock or bonds held in custody at a Custodian Bank or Brokerage Firm. 
   Constituents—Any party involved in the process of disseminating corporate communications. This includes corporations, mutual fund companies, institutions, shareholders, bondholders, transfer agents, solicitors, proxy agents, voting agents, proxy advisors, and any other interested party. 
   Corporation/Corporate Issuer—Publicly-traded corporations and mutual fund companies. 
   Creator/Message Creator—The creator of a message, which may or may not be the sender. The message creator designs the message in any format, such as text, audio, video, etc. 
   Electronic Distribution or Delivery of Communication from Management or Other Shareholders—Providing access to electronic text, audio, and/or video content (collectively referred to as “solicitation content”) by means of embedding the solicitation content in an electronic proxy ballot, providing one or more links to the solicitation content in an electronic ballot or electronic voting platform, and/or pushing the solicitation content (or links thereto) directly to shareholders or bondholders by electronic mail. 
   E-Solicitation or Electronic Solicitation—Each and every electronic means of communication concerning the impact of securities, and exchanged between shareholders and/or any party impacted by the value, actions, and results of a corporate action and any corporate issuer and/or any of its subsidiaries, contractors, and/or interested parties that may have interest in the securities of such corporation or mutual fund company. Thus, “electronic solicitation” includes each and every message sent in any form of electronic original format and/or delivery either: (a) from a sender or an agent acting on their behalf (a corporation, mutual fund company or other interested party affected by actions of the corporation or mutual fund company—such as shareholders, bondholders, other companies interested in the value of the corporate issuer securities, etc.; or (b) to a shareholder or bondholder or any other recipient determined by the sender. The purpose of such electronic solicitation can be to provide information, encourage voting, or persuade voting decisions. 
   Electronic Solicitation Services—The electronic distribution or delivery of communication from corporate management, mutual fund management or other shareholders to shareholders or bondholders for the purpose of soliciting a specific vote result in relation to annual meetings, corporate governance, regulatory or compliance matters, mergers, acquisitions, takeovers, written consents, proxy contests, spin-offs, de-mutualizations or bankruptcies. Electronic Solicitation Services can also encompass any communication to apprise or educate investors about any event or circumstance that may materially affect the company or fund. 
   Issuers—Corporations and Mutual Fund Companies. 
   Message—Any communication from a message “sender” to a message “recipient.” 
   Message format—Any format other than mail or telephone formats, including video, audio, text, physical, analog, digital, verbal or any other electronic format as well as any future distribution format. 
   Notification—The actual message to be delivered to the recipient in electronic format and directions for accessing the message. 
   Plan Sponsor—A shareowner that hires an institution to manage and vote on their behalf. Plan Sponsors will periodically request reports on how the institution has voted. 
   Recipient—Any constituent determined by the sender to be the receiver of a message and/or access to a message (i.e. shareholders, bondholders, voting agents, proxy advisors, etc.). 
   Sender—A constituent (e.g., corporations, mutual fund companies, stockholders or bondholders, and/or any other constituent on behalf of stockholders and/or bondholders) or an agent acting on their behalf. The sender shall have the authority to send a message, although it may or may not participate in the creation of the message. The sender may or may not know the identity of all recipients. If not, identity information will be provided to Electronic Solicitation System Provider from other sources such as custodian banks or brokerage firms. (i.e. shareholders who are beneficial owners, registered through a custodian bank). 
   Solicitation Content—Text, audio, video or other corporate communication from a corporation or mutual fund company, or agent acting on their behalf. 
   Voter—shareholders and bondholders or their agents voting on their behalf (i.e. voting agents and advisors). 
   Publicly traded corporations are required by law to hold one meeting per year. This meeting serves the purpose of acquiring shareholder and/or bondholder approval on proposals pertaining to the corporation&#39;s management and operations or other corporate actions. Aside from the required annual meeting, corporations also hold other meetings and consent solicitations whenever shareholder and/or bondholder approval is required for additional purposes, i.e. takeovers, proxy fights, etc. Conventionally, the process proceeds as follows: (a) a meeting is set by a corporation or mutual fund company or mandated by another institution in the case of a special/extraordinary meeting; (b) a corporation or mutual fund company, or other interested party, submits filings pertinent to such meeting; (c) a meeting requires votes of shareholders, bondholders, either all types or only a group, as designed by the corporation or mutual fund company or other interested party. Because of the significant economic impact of the voting results, corporations or mutual funds elect to hire special agents in order to facilitate the annual meeting material distribution and voting process. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3 , a corporation, mutual fund company, and/or any other interested party (i.e., voters interested in shareholder proposals or other corporations in the case of takeover proposal, etc) desires to convince voters to vote either for certain proposal(s), against certain proposal(s), abstain from certain proposal(s), or withhold their votes from certain proposal(s). The corporation also may have an interest in providing additional information about the meeting directly to voters pertinent to that particular meeting and/or in disseminating information about the corporation or mutual fund unrelated to the meeting. 
   The core functionality of the system is provided by a Proxy Voting Platform  20  (software) shown generally on  FIG. 1  and in more detail on  FIGS. 4 and 5 . The system can obtain needed data from a variety of data sources, as identified in blocks  11  through  19 . In addition to coordinating the delivery and viewing of messages and ballots, the system also uses voting data to assemble and deliver voting results to the Issuer  12 , to a corporate plan sponsor  13 , and to a vote tabulator  14 . 
   More specifically, as illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the present invention includes a Proxy Voting Platform  20  that is provided by the Electronic Solicitation System Provider. Data sources  11 - 19  provide inputs to Proxy Voting Platform  20 . The inputs depicted on the input lines include meeting notification data, ballot data, share positions from institutions  13 , share positions from custodian banks  14 , analysis and recommendations, issuer data, securities data and solicitations. Voter  10  interacts with the Proxy Voting Platform to direct custodians, view the analysis and recommendations, view solicitations, submit votes, contact custodians, discuss issues electronically and receive reports. Outputs from the Proxy Voting Platform include electronic reports sent to the SEC  41 , electronic reports sent to the corporate issuer  42 , electronic reports sent to the plan sponsor  43 , and vote results sent electronically to the vote tabulator  44 . 
   The overall operational sequence of the electronic solicitation process of the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 2 . The Electronic Solicitation System Provider (ESSP) gathers information and performs the steps labeled Prerequisite Information  200 , Client Actions  210 , Share Position Information  220  and Ballot and Related Information  230 . Prerequisite information  200  includes the steps of obtaining corporate issuer information  202  and obtaining securities information  204 . Client actions  210  includes the voter becoming a client of the ESSP (i.e., SwingVote in the figure) in step  212 , and the voter directing custodians to submit share positions to the ESSP in step  214 . Share position information  220  includes the ESSP requesting and obtaining custodian share positions of voters as of the record date for upcoming shareholder meetings in step  222 . Ballot and related information includes the steps  232 - 240  shown in  FIG. 2 . The ESSP obtains shareholder meeting notification data in step  232 . Ballot information pertaining to upcoming meetings is obtained in step  234 . The ESSP obtains analysis information pertaining to ballot proposals in step  236 . The ESSP obtains voting policy and recommendation information pertaining to ballot proposals in step  238 . The ESSP obtains solicitation messages from a corporation, mutual fund or shareholder in step  240 . 
   The voter performs the steps illustrated in block  250 . The voter views analysis in step  252 , views recommendations in step  254 , views solicitations in step  256 , submits votes in step  258 , contacts custodians in the event of a discrepancy in step  260 , discusses issues  262  via the Proxy Voting platform and receives reports  264  via the Proxy Voting Platform. The ESSP, through the medium of the Proxy Voting Platform, performs the steps illustrated in block  270 . The ESSP send the vote results to a vote tabulator in step  272 , send reports to the SEC in step  274 , sends reports to the corporate issuer in step  276  and sends reports to the Plan Sponsor in step  278 . 
     FIG. 3  illustrates a flow diagram of the sequence of steps of the electronic solicitation process. In logic block  300 , a corporation, mutual fund or a shareholder makes a decision to solicit shareholders in regards to a voting event. This is followed in logic block  304  with the selection of the ESSP for electronic solicitation services. A solicitation message is then created in logic block  308  and received by the ESSP in logic block  312 . The ESSP tags solicitation messages with specific parameters to ensure the message is available to the correct voters in logic block  316 . The solicitation messages are then input into the ESSP Proxy Voting platform in logic block  320 . The solicitation messages are allowed to be viewed only by the voters using the Proxy Voting Platform holding shares in the Issuer as indicated in logic block  324 . 
   The voter views the solicitation message as presented in the Proxy Voting Platform as indicated in logic block  328 . This is followed with the voter using the Proxy Voting platform to vote as indicated in logic block  332 . The ESSP records specific details concerning the viewing of the electronic solicitation message as indicated in logic block  336 . The Proxy Voting Platform compiles message viewing statistics in aggregate in logic block  340 . Aggregated, anonymous viewing data is then reported by the ESSP Proxy Voting Platform to the corporation, mutual fund or shareholder while protecting the privacy of the voter. This final process is indicated in logic block  344 . 
   In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, and as used in the electronic solicitation process of  FIG. 3 , the constituent attempting to reach voters and/or other interested parties about the corporation decides to deliver a message via electronic solicitation, thus becoming a Sender. Then, a message is created in any format (voice, audio, video, text, etc.) by the message Creator. The Creator may or may not be also the Sender. The Sender shall have the authority to send a message although it had no participation in the creation of the message). 
   The Sender or message Creator, acting on behalf of the sender, sends the message to the Electronic Solicitation System Provider (sometimes referred to herein and in the drawings as “Swingvote”) via any message format. Alternatively, the Electronic Solicitation System Provider retrieves such message from the Sender or Creator, along with recipient e-mail addresses, if necessary. The Sender or Creator may or may not supply the Electronic Solicitation System Provider with the necessary address and additional information to reach the Recipients via electronic delivery. The Electronic Solicitation System Provider receives the message and either transforms the original message into an electronic format or maintains the message in its original format. 
   Next, the Electronic Solicitation System Provider transmits the message electronically to the recipient group desired by the Sender, and/or the Electronic Solicitation System Provider makes the message available to be retrieved by the Recipients via electronic notification of the availability of such message. 
   The Electronic Solicitation System Provider invoices the Sender for messages sent and realizes proceeds from the remittance of message and not for the delivery of such. 
   The message may or may not be retrieved by the Recipient. For every recipient successfully receiving the message and/or notification by Electronic Solicitation System Provider of the existence and availability of this message, the recipient can choose whether or not to read, view or listen to the message. Additionally, the recipient has a choice of whether or not to act upon receiving the message. 
     FIG. 4  illustrates, in block diagram form, additional functional details of the software modules and functions of the Proxy Voting Platform. Constituents, represented by block  40 , use the Proxy Voting Platform (block  20 ) to reach voters  10  with messages  30 . Electronic solicitation messages are generated by the Proxy Voting Platform  20  and aggregated statistical data on voting results are reported to the constituent  40 . The Proxy Voting Platform modules include, but are not limited to, message tagging module  24 , message presentation module  28 , detailed statistics gathering module  26  and aggregate statistics reporting module  22 . 
   The message tagging module  24  tags each message with issuer and meeting identifiers. This enables only those voters holding positions for the issuer as of the record date to view the electronic solicitation. The dashed line in Proxy Voting Platform block  20  represents the “one-way mirror” that shields the identity of the voter  10  from the constituents  40 . Message presentation module  28  validates the right of the voter to view or listen to the electronic solicitation message. Detailed statistics gathering module  26  processes the votes for each voter. The voting results are accumulated by aggregated statistics reporting module  22  which send reports electronically to the constituents  40 . 
   A voter  10  who wants to view the solicitation message connects to the system using a log-in screen at a web page maintained by the Electronic Solicitation System Provider. After the user presents proper log-in credentials, the user is presented with a system start screen  62  as shown on  FIG. 6 . When the user selects the “Meeting List” link  64  on  FIG. 6 , a list of one or more “meetings” associated with one or more corporate matters in which that user has ownership is presented to the user as illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
   Preferably, the message will contain a link to a solicitation message from the Sender. The availability of a solicitation message is indicated on the Meeting List display  70  of  FIG. 7 . The user can also select the name of the “Issuer”  74  on the Meeting List display  70  of  FIG. 7 , which will then take the user to the electronic ballot page for that particular meeting. One example of such a ballot page  80  is shown in  FIG. 8 , wherein the meeting and ballot pertains to the election of board of directors. While viewing the ballot page  80  of  FIG. 8 , the user can select the “Issuer Message” link  82 . This link will take the user to a audio or video issuer solicitation message  92  displayed in a window on Issuer message display  90  of  FIG. 9  or to a text message on the issuer message display  100  of  FIG. 10 . Before or after viewing an issuer solicitation message, the user can vote on the issue in question directly on the electronic ballot page display  80  of  FIG. 8 . 
     FIG. 5  illustrates an exemplary embodiment of the Proxy Voting Platform application and software as used in the present invention. Because the system is web-based application, conventional “n-tier” architecture is used, including a presentation tier  50 , business tier  52 , data tier  54 , and file storage tier  56 . N-tier software architecture is well known to those skilled in the art of computer programming and will not be discussed in any detail herein. Presentation tier  50  includes, but is not limited to, web user interface module  51  and object server module  53 . Business tier  52  includes, but is not limited to, object server module  55  and data access module  57  for accessing data stored in databases in the data tier  54 . The data tier  54  includes a plurality of databases  59 . File storage tier  56  includes a plurality of data files  61 . The Proxy Voting Platform also includes application integration module  60  and reporting module  58 . 
   The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of all means plus function elements in any claims below are intended to include any structure, material, or acts for performing the function in combination with other claim elements as specifically claimed. 
   Those skilled in the art will appreciate that many modifications to the exemplary embodiment are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. In addition, it is possible to use some of the features of the present invention without the corresponding use of the other features. Accordingly, the foregoing description of the exemplary embodiment is provided for the purpose of illustrating the principles of the present invention and not in limitation thereof since the scope of the present invention is defined solely by the appended claims.