Can Index Fund Managers Police Corporate America?

Most investors own stock indirectly. If your actively-managed fund holds GE shares, you expect the manager to vote the GE shares in the best interest of you and your fellow fundholders.

Can you have the same expectation for managers of your index funds? Should managers of S&P 500 funds, for example, become active defenders of everyday investors at all 500 companies?

Bringing these questions to mind is the news that Vanguard, BlackRock and State Street, three index-fund titans, played a major role in defending DuPont from an assault by Trian.

Maybe passive investing isn't so passive after all.