WASHINGTON, D.C. –  Today, Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions and Congressman Bill Huizenga (MI-02), Ranking Member of the Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets Subcommittee introduced the House companion bill to the Investor Democracy is Expected (INDEX) Act.

“This bill will empower American investors who are currently at the mercy of investment advisers, many of whom are using their heavy influence to advance the far-Left’s progressive agenda. The ‘Big 3’ investment advisors are the largest owners in 96% of the S&P 500 companies, which is an alarmingly high concentration of unchecked voting power,” said Congressman Luetkemeyer.

“The INDEX Act will give investors - including anyone with a 401K, a pension plan, or who owns a mutual fund - a seat at the table and provide much-needed transparency in our corporate governance system,” continued Luetkemeyer.

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“Millions of retail investors are currently having their voices silenced,” said Congressman Huizenga. “For too long, passive investors have lacked the ability to influence decisions made by publicly traded companies they own stock in. I am introducing the INDEX Act to restore voting power for retail investors.”

“With the Biden Administration and their allies in Congress unable to enact their radical social agenda, they are now relying on the bureaucrats at the Security and Exchange Commission to embolden activist investors in board rooms across America,” continued Huizenga. “Congress must act to hold asset management firms accountable for their politicized actions. The INDEX Act achieves this goal by increasing transparency and empowering retail investors.”

Background:
The INDEX Act would require investment advisors of passively-managed funds to vote proxies in accordance with the instructions of fund investors—not at the discretion of the adviser. The adviser would be responsible for passing through the proxies, collecting the instructions, and dutifully voting according to the investors’ wishes.

The Senate version of the INDEX Act was introduced by Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in May.