证券交易委员会结束气候行动100+调查不执法：警告协同投票可能被认定为集团
美国证券交易委员会（Securities and Exchange Commission，SEC）10月7日发布第21(a)条调查报告，宣布结束对气候行动100+（Climate Action 100+，CA100）部分成员的调查。调查针对的是 ExxonMobil 公司2021年5月年度股东大会上异议董事选举一事，委员会决定基于目前所知的行为不提起执法行动，但对 CA100 成员及其他参与者的行为表示严重关切。
报告由证券交易委员会执法部经与公司金融部协商后调查。调查检视的问题是，CA100 部分成员在2021年年会选举异议董事的过程中，是否以协同方式影响选举结果，从而违反《1934年证券交易法》。报告说，如果成员利用该组织协调投票以影响一次有争议的董事选举结果，他们就可能构成该法第13(d)(3)条与第13(g)(3)条所称的「集团」，而该集团被归属的受益所有权当时已超过 ExxonMobil 公开交易股票的5%，将受受益所有权申报框架约束。
报告提醒，构成集团的协议、安排、谅解或协同行动可以是被推定的，即使是通过中介机构进行的协同参与，也可能牵涉受益所有权申报。股东否认集团存在，并不是集团是否成立的结论性依据。不希望成为集团一员的受益所有人，应当主动确保避免集团成立的政策得到切实执行。报告还指出，加入一个以改变或影响特定发行人控制权为既定目的的组织，包括推动选举异议董事，可能是丧失以 Schedule 13G 而非 Schedule 13D 申报受益所有权资格的一个因素。
在具体对象上，调查检视了 BlackRock、State Street 与 Vanguard 的证据，其中 BlackRock 与 State Street 在成为 CA100 成员后，曾就 ExxonMobil 事项与 Ceres 有过沟通。Ceres 是总部位于 Boston 的非营利投资者网络，是支持 CA100 的北美投资者网络。报告同时明确，Vanguard 从未成为 CA100 成员，而且调查没有发现 BlackRock 或 State Street 同意按某种方式进行代理投票、或与 CA100 相关投资者及其他人分享其代理投票意向的证据。
证券交易委员会表示，之所以发布这份第21(a)条报告，是为了提醒已经加入或考虑加入类似 CA100 这类组织的资产管理人与投资者，采取适当步骤确保遵守《证券交易法》。报告不构成对其中任何事实或问题的裁决，也不作出任何个人或实体违法的认定。报告涉及的事实，来自公开记录以及调查中取得的文件记录与证词。
（来源：美国证券交易委员会）
SEC Closes Climate Action 100+ Investigation Without Enforcement, Warns Coordinated Voting Could Form a Group
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on October 7 issued a report of investigation under Section 21(a) announcing the end of its investigation into certain members of Climate Action 100+ (CA100). The investigation concerned the election of dissident directors at ExxonMobil Corporation's May 2021 annual meeting. The Commission determined not to pursue an enforcement action based on the conduct and activities known to it at this time, but said it has serious concerns about the conduct of CA100 members and other participants.
The report followed an investigation by the SEC's Division of Enforcement, in consultation with the Division of Corporation Finance. It examined whether certain CA100 members may have violated the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in connection with the 2021 election. The report said that if members used the organization as a means of coordinating their votes to influence the outcome of a contested director election, they would have formed a group under Sections 13(d)(3) and 13(g)(3) of the Exchange Act, and because the beneficial ownership attributed to that group would have exceeded five percent of ExxonMobil's publicly traded stock, the group would have been subject to the beneficial ownership reporting framework.
The report said the agreement, arrangement, understanding or concerted action underlying the formation of a group may be implied, and that coordinated engagement practices, even when undertaken through an intermediary, may implicate that framework. Shareholders' denials of the existence of a group are not conclusive. Beneficial owners who do not wish to be part of a group should proactively ensure that policies aimed at avoiding group formation are adequately enforced. Membership in an organization whose stated purpose is to change or influence control of a specific issuer, including by promoting the election of dissident directors, could be a factor in the loss of eligibility to report on Schedule 13G instead of Schedule 13D, the report said.
The investigation considered evidence concerning BlackRock, Inc., State Street Corporation and The Vanguard Group, including communications by BlackRock and State Street, after they became CA100 members, regarding ExxonMobil with Ceres, a Boston-based non-profit that serves as the North American investor network supporting CA100. The report also said Vanguard never became a member of CA100, and the investigation did not develop evidence that BlackRock or State Street agreed to vote proxies in certain manners or shared their proxy voting intentions with investors or others associated with CA100.
The Commission said it issued the Section 21(a) report to inform asset managers and investors who would join, or would consider joining, an organization such as CA100 to take appropriate steps to ensure compliance with the Exchange Act. The report does not constitute an adjudication of any fact or issue addressed in it, nor does it make findings of violations by any individual or entity. The facts discussed are based on the public record or on documentary records or testimony obtained during the investigation.
(Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
来源：美国证券交易委员会
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国证券交易委员会总部大楼。Wikimedia Commons，CC BY-SA 3.0，经联邦核心固定图库。 / Photo: Headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, from the federal core asset pack.
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