Most of us detest the idea of vote-rigging so it is good that the world's biggest institutions are pressing for simplification of voting structures and greater transparency in stock lending and borrowing, both areas where investors can garner voting rights out of proportion with their economic interest and out of whack with the long-term interests of other shareholders.

The International Corporate Governance Network, which is pursuing these initiatives, doesn't want to regulate either practice out of existence. But it does want to ensure that other investors know more about what is going on.