John C. Bogle, the founder and former CEO of the Vanguard Group, cites a host of interesting statistics that document the changes in the investing public in his call for  the creation of a Federation of Long-Term Investors, in which institutional investors, who alone hold some 15 percent of  U.S. stocks would join together to force changes in public company governance.

In his Wall Street Journal opinion article Bogle quotes Leo Strine, vice chairman of the Delaware Court that “no longer are the equity holders of public corporations diffuse and weak.. (they represent a new and powerful form of agency.”

In the 2010 proxy season, boards of directors who develop programs of shareholder communication and active engagement with their owners will see better outcomes.