Small investors have created the Proxy Open Exchange (POE) as an alternative to the SEC's EDGAR platform, from which they were excluded earlier this year. The move aims to restore transparency for shareholder communications on issues like climate action and corporate governance. POE has already seen dozens of filings since its debut.
Since President Donald Trump took office, the Securities and Exchange Commission has restricted access to EDGAR, barring investors with less than $5 million in shares from posting exempt solicitations. These documents allow shareholders to share views on topics including climate action, board accountability, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. In January, the SEC implemented this change to curb what it called a large volume of requests and reduce regulatory burdens, according to an agency spokesperson previously quoted by Grist. The spokesperson noted that shareholders can still use press releases, emails, websites, social media, and forums for such communications, as companies had raised concerns about confusion among investors from EDGAR misuse. Critics view the restrictions as an effort to silence activist voices. Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow—the group behind POE—said, “If they’re going to take away EDGAR, we’re going to give them POE.” He emphasized that a free market requires open communication. Launched recently, POE mimics EDGAR's design, using the same central index keys to identify posters, and reviews submissions only for basic errors without filtering content. In less than a week, it has attracted 63 filings, outpacing EDGAR's 39 exempt solicitations for 2026 so far. Jill Fisch, a University of Pennsylvania business law professor, praised POE's user-friendly interface compared to the government's “old and glitchy” site, noting that postings remain subject to anti-fraud laws. Tim Smith of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility called it “a new and adventurous approach” open to all viewpoints, from climate resolutions to challenges on diversity initiatives. While one major proxy advisor, ISS, reportedly ignores non-EDGAR content, Behar hopes POE proves temporary, expecting a future administration to restore EDGAR access. Fisch suggested alternatives like POE might persist even if restrictions lift, as “the cat’s out of the bag.”
