Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, commonly referred to as the shareholder-proposal rule, allows shareholders to submit proposals for inclusion in a company's proxy materials. If the rule's procedures are followed, the company's shareholders will be asked to vote on the proposal...

We document that certain features of the institutional and regulatory environment governing shareholder voting can affect the co- location of shares’ voting and cash- flow rights. We show that “routine” management proposals, for which brokers can vote shares held in “street name” if...