A change proposed by the US. Securities and Exchange Commission could end corporate activism for people like Sister Nora Nash, a nun with the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia out of Neumann University in Aston, writes Emily Chasan and Saijel Kiswhan for Bloomberg.com.

The Sisters use their limited retirement fund shareholder status to file hundreds of proposals with companies to push for change on guns, tobacco and fracking.

Now the SEC has a plan to limit proposals from small investors like the Sisters, requiring higher ownership thresholds to submit proposals.

Companies have said that frequent proposals from small investors can be a costly drain on management’s time. But Nash said she hears a different response as well and is disappointed I the SEC’s proposal.

“We’re helping corporations to realize that they can improve,” she said.

Nash and her community have taken a vow of poverty but maintain a small investment portfolio to support health care for elderly nuns. The shareholder-proposal process has been one of their most effective ways to hold companies accountable, said Nash, the order’s director of corporate social responsibility , giving them a voice.

Read more about the proposed changes by the SEC here.

[uam_ad id=”62465″]