What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
Shall we catch up on some of the recent developments regarding the SEC’s proxy advisor rules? First, let’s take a look at what’s happening with the appeal of the opinion of the D.C. Federal District Court in ISS v. SEC,...more
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) recently released its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey (the "Policy Survey"). In keeping with its prior practice, ISS seeks responses from institutional shareholders, issuers,...more
On August 1, 2024, ISS Governance (ISS) announced the launch of its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey. The survey results will inform ISS’s policy development for 2025 and beyond. For the U.S. market, the survey solicits views...more
Glass Lewis (“GL”) recently released its annual Benchmark Policy Guidelines for 2024. This update makes several changes to how the proxy advisory firm will evaluate company policies related to executive compensation. ...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy voting advisory firms in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the U.S. market for the 2024...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the two most influential proxy advisory firms, recently released updates to their voting policies for the 2024 proxy season. The ISS US policy update will apply for...more
On December 19, 2023, ISS Governance announced updates to its 2024 benchmark proxy voting policies. The full text of the updated benchmark policies for 2024 should be available later this month and will generally apply to...more
On November 21, 2023, Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) Governance announced proposed changes to its benchmark voting policy for 2024 (the “Proposed Changes”). To ensure that a broad range of perspectives is...more
Canadian shareholder activism continued its post-pandemic resurgence into the first half of 2023. Emerging trends include the “activist swarm,” where multiple—yet uncoordinated—activists converge on a single target with...more
On August 29, 2023, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) announced the launch of its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey. The survey results will inform ISS’s policy development for 2024 and beyond....more
A study of companies in the Russell 3000 just released by ISS showed that, for the first time, directors who self-identified as racial and ethnic minorities accounted for 20% of all board directorships. The study found that...more
As we enter the 2023 proxy season, there are a number of new regulatory requirements, both technical and substantive, that have been implemented, and many more on the horizon. For example, many companies will need to comply...more
U.K. institutional investor bodies, including the Investment Association (IA), Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis) recently published...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
As is customary this time of year, both Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis issued updates to their voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. At a high level, the updates focused on director...more
Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), the two major proxy advisory firms, recently issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2023 proxy season. These policy updates...more
Delaware corporate law continually evolves, and 2022 was no exception. As the year draws to a close and proxy season approaches, here are highlights of significant changes that may impact 2023 annual meeting plans, among...more
On November 17, 2022, Glass Lewis released its 2023 U.S. Policy Guidelines (U.S. Guidelines) and its 2023 ESG Initiatives Policy Guidelines (ESG Guidelines), effective for shareholder meetings on or after January 1, 2023. On...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 prepare for the 2023 proxy season, their ESG performance, as evaluated and rated by various third-party ratings providers, is a key focus. With the growing importance of ESG to institutional investors,...more
ISS has released the results of its annual global benchmark policy survey, a survey that is used every year as part of ISS’ policy development process. This year, the survey included a number of questions on climate change...more
ISS Policy Survey - Toward the end of each year, Institutional Shareholder Services updates its proxy vote recommendation policies for meetings held on or after February 1 of the following year. As part of that process,...more
On April 1, 2022, the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles granted the plaintiffs’ motion for summary judgment in a case challenging the legality of AB 979 under the California Constitution...more
In the past few weeks, both major proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS") and Glass Lewis & Co. LLC ("Glass Lewis"), have issued their updated proxy voting guidelines for the 2022 proxy season. These...more
Background On November 4, 2021, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released proposed updates to its US benchmark voting policies for 2022, with a public comment period running through November 16, 2021. The draft policy...more