Paul Atkins, chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, during a House Financial Services Committee hearing in Washington DC on Feb. 11, 2026.
Photographer: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg
Small Investors Fear SEC Will Drive Corporate Gadflies to Extinction
America’s small investors have one main route for influencing corporate boards and it’s poised to get a lot narrower.
Federal regulators are looking at new rules that could rein in shareholders who hold as little as $2,000 in stock to get their proposals on proxy ballots. Business groups are pressing for higher ownership thresholds like the one adopted last year in Texas, where investors are now required to own at least $1 million in stock or a 3% stake to file a proposal with companies incorporated there.