On October 10, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted final rules amending the beneficial ownership reporting requirements established by the Commission under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the...more
On July 26, 2023, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) adopted final rules on cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident disclosure by a split vote of 3-2. While the...more
On August 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted its long-awaited pay versus performance (PvP) rules mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010.1 These rules amend the SEC’s existing executive compensation...more
On March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed widely anticipated rules that would require registrants to provide specified climate-related information in registration statements and periodic...more
On March 9, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed rules intended to enhance and standardize public company disclosures regarding cybersecurity risk management, strategy, governance, and incident...more
BlackRock Doubles Down on Sustainability -
• BlackRock signals substantially more assertive posture on climate-related issues
• New approach to shareholder proposals saw BlackRock support 54% of environmental and social...more
4/23/2021
/ Benchmarking ,
BlackRock ,
Climate Change ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
EEO-1 ,
Environmental Social & Governance (ESG) ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Investment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
State Street ,
Sustainability ,
Transparency ,
Vanguard
The global COVID-19 pandemic, severe weather events, and the social unrest unleashed in the United States over the past year have amplified the role of Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) as a driving factor in...more
In a remarkable year for the equity markets in 2020, the increased use of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (“SPACs”) to take companies public stands out as a defining trend. In 2020, well-known private businesses – like...more
1/26/2021
/ Collusion ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Division of Corporate Finance ,
Due Diligence ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Form S-1 ,
Hart-Scott-Rodino Act ,
Initial Public Offering (IPO) ,
Popular ,
Private Equity Firms ,
PSLRA ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Securities Act of 1933 ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sherman Act ,
Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs)
Proxy advisory firms ISS and Glass Lewis have issued their annual updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2021 proxy season. Glass Lewis’s new guidelines apply to shareholder meetings on or after January 1, 2021,...more
12/8/2020
/ Advance Notice ,
Board of Directors ,
Diversity and Inclusion Standards (D&I) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exclusive Forum ,
Glass Lewis ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Nasdaq ,
Notice Requirements ,
Policy Terms ,
Proxy Advisors ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Term Limits ,
Virtual Meetings ,
Woman Board Members
On September 23, 2020, the SEC adopted long-awaited amendments to Rule 14a-8 modifying the criteria for eligibility and resubmission of shareholder proposals. Prior to these amendments, the submission threshold had not been...more
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted modest amendments to Item 101 (business description), Item 103 (legal proceedings) and Item 105 (risk factors) of Regulation S-K. The amendments reflect...more
On March 2, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) released its final rule amending the financial disclosure requirements applicable to registered debt offerings that include credit enhancements, including...more
3/6/2020
/ Amended Regulation ,
Disclosure Requirements ,
Final Rules ,
Financial Statements ,
New Rules ,
Parent Corporation ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Regulation S-X ,
REIT ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Subsidiaries ,
UPREITS
BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street Global Advisors are the world’s three largest asset managers, collectively representing over $16 trillion in AUM, including 81% of all ETF assets. These “Big Three” investors collectively...more
On January 14th, BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink issued his annual letter to portfolio company CEOs, this year titled “A Fundamental Reshaping of Finance.” The letter focuses on the potential effect that climate change will have...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) have issued updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2020 proxy season. Notable policy updates issued by one or...more
11/22/2019
/ Board of Directors ,
Committee Members ,
Corporate Executives ,
Corporate Governance ,
Executive Compensation ,
Glass Lewis ,
Independent Director ,
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) ,
Performance Reviews ,
Policy Updates ,
Proxy Advisory Firms ,
Proxy Season ,
Proxy Voting Guidelines ,
Publicly-Traded Companies ,
Say-on-Pay ,
Shareholder Proposals
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”) recently issued updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2019 proxy season. Notable updates were issued by one or...more
For governance professionals, the fourth quarter of the fiscal year generally marks the kick-off for the next year’s annual meeting and proxy season. Over the past two years, public companies have seen a sharp rise in...more
On November 22, 2017, Glass Lewis issued its updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2018 proxy season. Notable updates applicable to U.S. companies include new or revised policies relating to:
..gender diversity...more
On November 16, 2017, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) issued its updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2018 proxy season. Notable updates applicable to U.S. companies include new or revised policies:...more
The S&P Dow Jones and FTSE Russell indices recently took actions designed to exclude companies with multi-class share structures from several of the most prominent market indices.
On July 31st, S&P Dow Jones announced that...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis) recently issued updated proxy voting guidelines for the upcoming 2017 proxy season. Notable updates were issued by one or...more
On October 31, 2016, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a proxy advisory firm, announced its rebranded corporate governance rating system. Formerly known as QuickScore, the rating system is now called QualityScore to...more