Australian Shareholders' Association (ASA) is an Australian

not-for-profit organisation A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

which advocates for the rights of retail shareholders. Founded in 1960 in Sydney, ASA provides educational resources and professional learning opportunities for its members, who are largely independent small-scale investors. ASA's most prominent public role, however, is in the research and publication of recommendations that members can use to inform their votes on such matters as executive pay and director re-elections. This role brought ASA under the scrutiny of an inquiry into the role of

proxy advisor A proxy firm (also a proxy advisor, proxy adviser, proxy voting agency, vote service provider or shareholder voting research provider) provides services to shareholders (in most cases an institutional investor of some type) to vote their shares at ...

s launched by Australian

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

Josh Frydenberg Joshua Anthony Frydenberg () (born 17 July 1971) is an Australian former politician who served as the treasurer of Australia and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2018 to 2022. He also served as a member of parliament (MP) for the divisi ...

in May 2021. ASA does not believe itself to be a proxy advisor, given its not-for-profit status, as well as the fact that its research is published as 'intentions' rather than recommendations. Most recently, ASA has been one of the primary advocates against a Federal Government proposal to loosen disclosure requirements for directors of public companies, on the basis of their belief that the proposal "threatens the rights of investors". ASA's funding comes from membership fees, as well as donations and sponsorships. Sponsors for its 2020 conference included controversial mining company

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and investment fund provider Fidelity International.

Industry groups and committees

The ASA represents shareholder and member interests on the following industry groups and committees: *AASB Disclosure Initiative Project Advisory Panel *ASIC Consumer Advisory Panel (CAP) *ASIC Regional Liaison Committee *ASX Corporate Governance Council *ASX CHESS Replacement project *ATO Individual Stewardship Group *Business Reporting Leaders Forum (BRLF) *Corporate Reporting Users Forum *Security Registrars Association of Australia

Achievements

ASA claims the following achievements, among others: * advocating for regulatory reform, including the introduction of the 'two strikes rule', which requires non-managing directors of public companies to be immediately re-elected if two consecutive AGMs vote down their remuneration package * being the dominant voice at AGMs as the voice of retail shareholders * encouraging directors of public companies to reduce their board workload to reasonable levels, allowing them to focus on the boards on which they remain

Membership

As of the end of 2020, ASA had 5,001 members, up slightly from the end of 2019.

Leadership

ASA is led by CEO Rachel Waterhouse, and is overseen by a board of directors.

Board of directors

The board of directors is composed of: *Allan Goldin (2016—present; appointed Chair 2019) *Michael Jackson *Andrew Kearnan *Carol Limmer *Steven Mabb *Peter Rae *Mike Robey *Lelde Smits

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Australian_Shareholders_Association_ASA Business organisations based in Australia Shareholders 1960 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1960 Organisations based in Sydney Corporate governance in Australia