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Explain it like I'm five: I'm a shareholder. I get defrauded. There's a shareholder suit. Where does the money come from?

It feels like we'd be suing ourselves. Wells Fargo defrauded us and if we win, we'll get money back from an entity we own

The might be a little bit of a shuffle with money going from people who bought one year to those who bought another, but for buy and hold, that's pretty moot. It seems like the lawyers are making money at my own expense?

What an I missing?



I'm a shareholder. The company does something I don't like. I file a lawsuit. The lawsuit costs the company time and money and possibly forces them to change their policy. Is this good for my immediate financial interest in the company? Probably not, but does it fulfil other purposes I may have? Sure!

If you want to send a message to companies that they better not fuck about with this DEI stuff for example, this might send that message.


You’re not missing anything, that’s exactly what happens with shareholder class-action lawsuits, and one of the reasons why they’re controversial.




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