Texas Stock Exchange said it wants brokers to vote uninstructed retail shares in proportion to the votes actually cast, creating what it calls the first exchange-level proxy reform of its kind, subject to SEC review.
Broadridge’s 2025 ProxyPulse data show only 28.0% retail participation; with Exxon about 40% retail-owned, roughly 29% of all outstanding shares can go unvoted in a typical year, raising quorum risks and effectively blocking proposals.
The proposal follows ExxonMobil’s shareholder vote to redomicile to Texas after the company won SEC no-action relief in 2025 for a standing voting instruction program that let retail investors pre-commit votes with management.
Texas Stock Exchange argues the change would curb the influence of ISS and Glass Lewis, which it says dominate proxy advice with a 97% market share, while making public listings less costly and unpredictable.
The exchange casts the rule as part of a broader push to revive U.S. public markets, where the number of listed companies has fallen to about 4,300 from roughly 8,000 in the late 1990s.