TY  - JOUR
AU  - Alexander,Cindy R.
AU  - Chen,Mark A.
AU  - Seppi,Duane J.
AU  - Spatt,Chester S.
TI  - The Role of Advisory Services in Proxy Voting
JF  - National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper Series
VL  - No. 15143
PY  - 2009
Y2  - July 2009
UR  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15143
L1  - http://www.nber.org/papers/w15143.pdf
N1  - Author contact info:
Cindy Alexander
Securities and Exchange Commission
E-Mail: alexanderc@sec.gov

Mark A.. Chen
Georgia State University
Robinson College of Business
Dept. of Finance, 35 Broad Street
Atlanta, GA  30303
E-Mail: machen@gsu.edu

Duane Seppi
Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper School of Business
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh,  PA  15213-3890
Tel: 412-268-2298
Fax: 412-268-8896
E-Mail: ds64@andrew.cmu.edu

Chester S. Spatt
Tepper School of Business
Carnegie Mellon University
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
Tel: 412/268-8834
Fax: 412-268-6689
E-Mail: cspatt@andrew.cmu.edu
AB  - This paper studies the information content and consequences of third-party voting advice issued during proxy contests.  We document significant abnormal stock returns around proxy vote recommendations and develop an estimation procedure for disentangling stock price effects due to changes in outcome probabilities from those due to changes in outcome-contingent valuations.  We find that voting advice is a good predictor of contest outcomes and that vote recommendations appear to certify the extent to which dissidents can add value.  Thus, proxy advice seems to play a dual informational role in financial markets.
ER  -