Few of us own as many shares as Warren Buffett, who recently announced he would retire at year’s end. Nevertheless, America is still a nation of investors who own stocks and bonds, real estate, collectibles, and other assets that grow in value over time, adding to our wealth if we’re smart and lucky.

Behind all that is a network of asset management firms, financial advisors, brokers, and others who manage our money and give advice on how to do well. Most of them operate out of a time-honored tradition of fiduciary responsibility, requiring those in the business of managing other people’s money to make generating the greatest return on investment possible their primary concern.

Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading.

Being an investor also gives you power. It gives you a voice in the management of the corporations whose stock you own. Every year, thousands of firms conduct votes of their shareholders on resolutions that make, affirm, or change company policy.

There are so many that it’s hard for an individual investor to keep up. Most must rely on one of two firms – Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS – to tell them whether to vote “Aye” or “Nay” by proxy. As a result, these firms have what critics allege amount to........

© Yuma Sun