What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
Proxy advisors, and specifically ISS and Glass Lewis, are in the business of advising asset managers on whether to vote for or against the thousands of director nominees and proposals that are presented to shareholders each...more
Some proxy advisors and institutional investors have made changes to their diversity policies and mandates, including the following ...more
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
À l’approche de la période de sollicitation de procurations de 2025, les émetteurs pourraient vouloir prendre connaissance des lignes directrices canadiennes en matière de vote par procuration émises par Institutional...more
On November 4, 2024, ISS Governance (ISS) announced the scheduled November 11, 2024, opening of its peer group submission window for U.S. and Canadian corporations with annual meetings slated to be held between February 1,...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 Maryland public companies begin preparing for their 2024 annual meetings, we recommend that each consider the voting results of its 2023 annual meeting of shareholders. Maintaining awareness of institutional investor and...more
In December last year, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Texas issued an Order granting summary judgment to the SEC and Chair Gary Gensler and denying summary judgment to the National Association of...more
Davies Governance Insights analyzes the top trends and issues most important to Canadian public companies and provides practical guidance for boards to meet these challenges head on. In the 2020 edition of Davies...more
As companies begin preparing for the 2023 proxy season, we note that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading providers of corporate governance solutions and proxy advisory services, issued...more
For many insiders at a newly formed public company, a large portion of their net worth is potentially tied up in holdings of their company’s publicly-traded shares. These insiders often face challenges obtaining liquidity...more
Glass, Lewis & Co (Glass Lewis) and Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) have both released updates to their Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. The Glass Lewis updates apply to shareholder...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
The 2022 Amendments have removed the requirements that call for proxy advisory firms claiming an exemption from proxy filing rules for solicitations to provide their proxy voting advice to subject companies and provide their...more
As discussed in our July 24, 2020 client alert, the SEC amended the proxy rules to establish a framework for proxy advisors such as ISS and Glass Lewis to remain exempt from proxy rule information and filing requirements....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
It’s worth noting that the budget package passed by the House last week includes a provision intended to put the kibosh on the proxy advisory firm rules that were adopted by the SEC in July 2020. Specifically, the bill...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is actively reconsidering its position on the applicability of its proxy rules to proxy voting advice. Background - In July 2020, the SEC adopted amendments to its proxy...more
The SEC’s long-awaited final rules governing voting advice provided by proxy advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholders Service (ISS) and Glass Lewis (the “final rules”) became effective on November 2, 2020. The final...more
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
As COVID-19 rages on, companies are again flocking to virtual annual meetings for the 2021 proxy season, but with one important difference: the luxury of time. Many companies are already exploring retention of virtual annual...more
In recent years, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sought to address controversy regarding the proxy voting system and the influence of proxy advisory firms such as Glass, Lewis & Co. and Institutional...more
The nation’s largest shareholder advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), recently filed suit against the SEC over new guidelines meant to give investors more transparency into how proxy advisory firms...more
On January 29, 2020, Skadden hosted the webinar “Key Trends in Executive Compensation, Employment Law and Compensation Committee Practices” presented by panelists Michael Bergmann, Executive Compensation and Benefits counsel;...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