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Vanguard Founder Jack Bogle Reiterates Call for SEC to Require Corporations to Disclose Their Political Spending

Oct. 24, 2016

Vanguard Founder Jack Bogle Reiterates Call for SEC to Require Corporations to Disclose Their Political Spending

Bogle Sat Down for a Video Interview With the Public Citizen-Chaired Corporate Reform Coalition

Vanguard founder John C. “Jack” Bogle is strongly reiterating his call for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require corporations to disclose their political spending.

In a recent videotaped interview with the Corporate Reform Coalition, which Public Citizen co- founded, Bogle said that “it’s the shareholder’s right to know what we are all doing,” referring to corporate activities. Bogle has submitted a public comment to the SEC in support of the rule.

The gravity Bogle continues to hold within the investment community is immense, and his remarks come as investor advocates are reaching a tipping point in their push for the SEC to issue a rule requiring companies to disclose how they spend to influence politics.

“We should heed his words about shareholder rights,” said Lisa Gilbert, director of Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division. “The SEC should make strides on the political spending disclosure rule, and Congress should not stand in its way. Until the rule is finalized, though, mutual funds should not hamper the efforts of shareholders calling for disclosure at individual companies.”

The Corporate Reform Coalition has been pushing Vanguard to use its heft as a large proxy voter to support shareholder resolutions that call for companies to disclose details of their political spending.

Bogle seems optimistic that the tide is turning in shareholders’ favor. “When shareholders aren’t served first the world will change,” he said. “And it is changing.”

Read a blog post about the interview.

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