Forgive me for not joining you over the outrage about executive salaries, although I can see where you're coming from.

The thing is, there's much worse going on that takes money straight out of shareholders' pockets in a way excessive pay doesn't.

So don't get me wrong, I'm as appalled as you are.

I mean why stop at chief executives?

There are any number of TV stars, models, sportsmen and Graham Richardsons who get paid more than me, though don't let that stop you from lobbying on my behalf should you wish to redress this oversight.

Some of the ways shareholders are being short-changed popped up in the Productivity Commission's report on executive pay.

It recommended, for instance, banning directors and executives from voting on their own pay increases.

You mean they're allowed to?

Galling as it is to see what other people get paid, often for failing, don't overlook the real shareholder rip-offs or the fact nothing is being done about them.

I've lost count how often a share price suddenly moves a few days before a major company announcement, though one fund manager counted 31 over 15 months.

Too bad if you were in the dark and found yourself on the wrong side of the trade.

But if the murky world of insider trading is hard to prove, obvious though it may be, that's not true of the great capital rort of the past six months or so.

As part of the great debt unloading, or what they prefer to call de-leveraging wrought by the financial meltdown, companies were forced to raise new capital.

There was nothing wrong with that – but it's the way they did it.

The new issues were tilted so far towards the big institutions and friends of the board, who incidentally had also beforehand been "sounded out" as it's become known, though "tipped off" fits just as well.

Because they had a whiff of what was coming, if not a direct say in it, this privilege amounted to highway robbery from faithful individual shareholders.

Yet neither the ASX nor Australian Securities and Investments Commission has said so much as boo.

Perhaps the Productivity Commission might like to put up its hand?

These capital raisings were done as placements at a heavy discount to the share price, giving the institutions and mates fabulous capital gains, under the cover of the global financial crisis, while leaving barely crumbs for other shareholders with share purchase plans.

All significant capital raisings should be done as a renounceable rights issue, where everybody is treated equally.

Even those who don't want to participate can sell their rights so nobody is out of pocket.

Having been done over once, unfortunately shareholders will find the real damage is still to come.

Profits and dividends, which have already been cut in most cases, will have to be spread more thinly among a much larger shareholder base. The share price will eventually suffer.

Since the corporate regulators show no interest in redressing this cost, the push to have renounceable rights issues or nothing will have to come at AGMs.

The banks, as the most egregious offenders, would be a good starting place.

Considering the average AGM costs $1000 a head to run, you may as well get something for turning up other than a cup of tea and a Tim Tam.