Proxy Meeting Planning & Preparation

When an issuer notifies Colonial Stock Transfer of its intention to hold a shareholder meeting, Colonial will send a proxy meeting setup form to the Issuer outlining the procedures to implement the proxy. This form will give Colonial the necessary information to initiate the broker search and begin the process. A timeline with detailed step-by-step instructions are included.

An annual meeting for a public company allows management to present general information about the company and its status to its shareholders and hold a proxy vote for the election of the Board of Directors, auditors, or anything else that may require shareholder approval. A quorum or (certain percentage voted of the outstanding shares) is required to hold a valid meeting, and the percentage is determined by the company's bylaws or state of incorporation.

If the issuer is subject to the SEC's proxy rules, the requirements for notification and proxy solicitation for an annual shareholders meeting are very complex and demand considerable planning, coordination, and follow up. Therefore, the Company's SEC attorney and Colonial Stock Transfer must be extensively involved in the preparation and mailing of the annual meeting notice.

Setting Annual Meeting Dates

Generally, the dates for your Annual Meeting should be set within a 90-day period. More time may be required, depending on corporate bylaws and/or state of incorporation. Please check with your legal counsel to verify your particular time frame.

  • Record Date: At least 20 business days prior to the record date, the broker search needs to be initiated by sending in the Shareholder Meeting Information Form. (SEC Rule 14a-13 requires that a Broker Search should take place at least 20 business days prior to the record date. Consult your securities attorney for specific SEC notification rules.)
  • Mail Date: Allow 5-8 business days between the record date and mail date for the beneficial broker records to be merged. Please note that the registered shareholders may be mailed to 1 business day after the record date.
  • Proxy Statement Filing Date: Allow 1-3 business days between the definitive proxy statement SEC Filing date and mail date.
  • Meeting Date: At least 40 calendar days is required between the mailing and meeting dates if you are sending the Notice only. If you are planning on sending a full set delivery with the Notice, the materials do not need to be sent the full 40 calendar days in advance of the meeting. Please be sure to plan enough time between the mailing and meeting dates to allow shareholders plenty of time to return their proxies. If you are mailing Full Sets, please adhere to all the date planning above except for the required 40 calendar days between the mailing and meeting dates.

If you would like to learn more or setup your annual meeting, you can do so through your online account or by contacting us.