proxy

prox·y   (prŏk'sē)    n.   pl. prox·ies A person authorized to act for another; an agent or substitute. The authority to act for another. The written authorization to act in place of another. [Middle English proccy, contraction of earlier procracie, annual payment to a prelate, from Anglo-Norman procuracie, from Medieval Latin prōcūrātia, alteration of Latin prōcūrātiō, from prōcūrātus, past participle of prōcūrāre, to take care of; see procure.]

proxy

A person authorized to act for another, or the written authorization to act for another.

Note: Shareholders in corporations may designate proxies to represent them at stockholders' meetings and vote their shares.

proxy 

Proxy

1. An agent legally authorized to act on behalf of another party. Shareholders not attending a company's annual meeting may choose to vote their shares by proxy by allowing someone else to cast votes on their behalf.

2. A formal power of attorney document that may be signed by a shareholder to authorize another shareholder, a representative of the shareholder or the company's management, to vote on behalf of the shareholder at the annual meeting. Proxy statements must be filed with regulatory authorities (the Securities and Exchange Commission in the U.S.) on an annual basis prior to the company's annual meeting. Proxy documents are meant to provide shareholders with the information necessary to make informed votes on issues important to the company's performance. They are known to offer shareholders and prospective investors tremendous insight into a company's governance as well as a glance at the way that a company's management operates.

Investopedia Commentary

1. Management often encourages shareholders to vote by proxy so that ownership interests are fully represented even if shareholders are unable to attend the company's annual meetings in person.

2. The proxy discloses important information about issues to be discussed at an annual meeting, lists the qualifications of management and board members, serves as a ballot for elections to the board of directors, lists the largest shareholders of a company's stock and provides detailed information about executive compensation.

Related Links

Putting Management Under The Microscope
Three Documents You Shouldn't Do Without
The Purpose and Importance of Proxy Voting
Lifting the Lid on CEO Compensation

See also: Common Stock, Cumulative Voting, Proxy Fight, Shareholder, Statutory Voting, Voting Right

Also spelled: proxies

proxy

The written authority to act or speak for another party. Proxies are sent to stockholders by corporate management in order to solicit authority to vote the stockholders' shares at the annual meetings.

Main Entry: proxy
Pronunciation: 'präk-sE
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural prox·ies
Etymology: Middle English procucie, contraction of procuracie, from Anglo-French, from Medieval Latin procuratia, alteration of Latin procuratio appointment of another as one's agent
1 : the act or practice of a person serving as an authorized agent or substitute for another —used esp. in the phrase by proxy
2 a : authority or power to act for another b : a statement or document giving such authorization; specifically : an oral consent or written document (as a power of attorney) given by a stockholder to a specified person or persons to vote corporate stock
3 a : a person authorized to act or make decisions for another proxy> b : something serving to replace or substitute for another thing

proxy networking
A process that accepts requests for some service and passes them on to the real server. A proxy may run on dedicated hardware or may be purely software. It may transform the request in some way or provide some additional layer of functionality such as caching or remote access. A proxy may be intended to increase security, e.g. a web proxy that allows multiple clients inside an organisation to access the Internet through a single secure, shared connection.
(2007-09-03)