The Informed Board Podcast | Pass-Through Voting: Empowering Shareholders or Increasing the Influence of Proxy Advisors?
ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
On February 11, 2025, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced a change to its voting policy with respect to board diversity. ISS will no longer consider the gender and racial and/or ethnic diversity of U.S. company...more
President-elect Donald Trump’s impending return to power on January 20, 2025, has created uncertainty and challenges for proxy advisory firms, such as ISS and Glass Lewis, which provide voting recommendations to investors on...more
A group of 23 Republican AGs wrote a letter to proxy advisory firms International Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis) warning the companies to cease prioritizing ESG initiatives in a manner...more
As ESG statements fall under increasing scrutiny, sponsors should aim for consistent and accurate messaging, as well as robust ESG strategies. Regulatory drivers and stakeholder demands have put environmental, social,...more
Following a series of accounting and audit scandals in recent years and what has been described as a “crisis of trust”, the UK Government, regulatory bodies, and institutional investor groups have set out to reform the UK’s...more
“ESG month” may not be exactly what you think. It’s the moniker, according to Politico, ascribed to the plan of the House Financial Services Committee, reflected in this interim report from its ESG Working Group, “to spend...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue, we discuss...more
The FRC has published research on the influence of proxy advisors and ESG rating agencies on the actions and reporting of FTSE 350 companies and investor voting. This makes interesting reading and highlights...more
On January 17, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes (R), on behalf of a 21-state coalition, sent a letter to the CEOs of the two largest proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Company....more
A group of 22 AGs wrote a letter to proxy advisory firms International Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. accusing the companies of potentially violating federal and state laws regarding the advice and...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy advisors in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. Their voting...more
As companies finalize materials for annual shareholder meetings, we recommend consideration of the following key requirements and disclosures: SEC proxy filing requirements; website and submission requirements; proxy...more
Throughout the last few years, investors, proxy advisors, governance professionals and a number of stakeholders have expressed a keen interest in how companies are managing their environmental, social and governance (ESG)...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy advisors in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the 2022 proxy season. Their voting...more
Companies have important decisions to make as they prepare for the 2022 annual meeting and reporting season. We have compiled this overview of key issues — including SEC disclosure requirements, recent SEC guidance,...more
On November 3, 2021, the staff (“staff”) of the Division of Corporation Finance (“Division”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14L which reverses a series of...more
The COVID-19 pandemic, volatile market conditions, and increasing stakeholder attention to a range of environmental and social topics made 2020 a remarkably difficult year for many public companies. 2021 will bring new...more
Three significant trends mark the last decade in corporate governance, and they have only accelerated over time: (i) the dismantling of structural provisions that some shareholders believe insulate directors from...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued rule updates and guidance in 2019 that are intended to simplify certain public reporting requirements, clarify the staff’s expectations with respect to no-action relief...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held an open meeting on August 21, 2019, (the Open Meeting) and approved two items: (1) guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under the...more
In a recent speech to the American Enterprise Institute, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce continued her rebuke of the practice of “public shaming” of companies that do not adequately satisfy environmental, social and governance...more