Fundamental Analysis For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 9

Mining the Proxy Statement for Investment Clues

IN THIS CHAPTER

Expanding your fundamental analysis to include items in a company’s proxy statement

Comprehending how corporate governance works and what it means for your investment

Weighing how to consider if corporate directors may have potential conflicts of interest

Evaluating shareholder resolutions and executive pay

When you think of fundamental analysis, you’re probably focused primarily on the number-crunching aspect of it. There’s no shortage of ratios and other quantitative measures to consider when evaluating an investment.

But fundamental analysis really is as much of an art than a science in many ways. Even when it comes to interpreting financial results and valuations, there’s a great amount of judgment that goes into it. And judgment becomes even more important when considering the proxy statement.

The proxy statement, or proxy, is one of the more interesting financial documents. Interesting financial reports, now there’s an oxymoron for you. But seriously, inside the proxy statement companies lay out many ...