January 10, 2013
Securities and Exchange Comm.
Dear Securities and Exchange Comm.,
When we invest in a company, we need information about how it does business. Annual Reports tell only a part of the story. If for instance, a corporation has a policy of discriminating against women, it is important to me that we not subsidize such treatment by making an investment in it. For this aspect, there are ways to research a company's track record on such issues. However, when profits are used for polital action efforts that are discriminatory, against the economic health of the country, or self-serving at the expense of the general public, we cannot obtain this information in the same way.
Therefore, we are contacting you to urge the commission’s prompt approval of rules requiring public disclosure of political spending by publicly-held companies. Disclosure is vital to the SEC’s responsibility to ensure that investors have the information they need to make sound decisions about when and where to put their money. Shareholders also have a right to know how companies in their investment portfolios are investing that money, particularly when the spending falls outside the company’s normal business activity.
Thank you for taking the time to read an consider my comment.
Sincerely,
Mary E. Merrifield