Should Your Company Take a Stand on Political and Social Issues?
Why Every Day Is Proxy Season for Public Companies
Corporate Law Report - Office Party Holiday Risks, Human Trafficking, the Fiscal Cliff, 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
On 2 November 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3–2, along party lines, to adopt a final rule and form amendments (together, the Final Rule) that would require additional disclosure on Form N-PX...more
On July 13, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, adopted amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors), rescinding two components of the proxy rules...more
In this issue, we cover regulatory developments impacting the investment management sector, including proposed legislation supported by the Investment Company Institute to address challenges for closed-end funds; the...more
On November 17, 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, proposed amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors). The amendments would rescind two portions of...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on July 22, 2020, adopted final amendments to its proxy solicitation rules to codify the SEC’s longstanding view that proxy voting advice generally constitutes a solicitation within...more
Firms that advise institutional advisers and institutional investors in the proxy voting process (“proxy advisors”) have gained prominence in recent years, but have also faced increased scrutiny regarding the accuracy and...more
On July 22, 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published supplementary guidance in the form of a policy statement (Policy Statement) regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under...more
On July 22, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to adopt amendments (Amendments) to certain of its rules governing proxy solicitations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (Exchange Act). The...more
On July 22, 2020, the SEC adopted final rules on the application of its proxy solicitation rules to proxy voting advisors. Among other things, the new rules will, for practical purposes, require these proxy advisory firms –...more
On July 22, 2020, the SEC took action to address two aspects of the proxy voting process: (1) amending the proxy solicitation rules with respect to “proxy voting advice businesses” (PVABs or proxy advisory firms), such as ISS...more
Yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the proxy rules. ...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
In this Lexis Practice Advisor Practice Note, we discuss two releases published by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on August 21, 2019. One release contains interpretation and guidance regarding the applicability...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed amendments to the proxy solicitation rules, directly targeting proxy advisory firms (Release No. 34-87457). Consistent with the updated interpretative guidance the SEC...more
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed amendments to Securities Exchange Act Rule 14a-8, which requires a public company to include shareholder proposals in the company’s own proxy...more
Board Oversight Disclosure. Over the past several years, companies have increasingly used their proxy statements to communicate how their boards have exercised oversight over key matters. We expect this trend to accelerate in...more
At an open meeting on November 5, 2019, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted to propose amendments to 1) the exemptions from “solicitation” relied upon by proxy advisory firms and 2) certain of the...more
SEC/CORPORATE - SEC Proposes New Amendments to Modernize Shareholder Proposal Rules - On November 5, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted to propose amendments to Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange of 1934...more
In the third quarter of 2019, the SEC Staff announced major changes to the standard no-action request review and response process relating to shareholder proposals. In addition, the SEC expanded the availability of...more
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), in response to increasing concerns that proxy advisory firms hold excessive sway over voting results, issued guidance (the “2019 Advisor Guidance”) that...more
The SEC adopted Guidance that discusses, among other matters, the ability of investment advisers to establish a variety of different voting arrangements with their clients and matters they should consider when they use the...more
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued two interpretive releases involving proxy voting and proxy voting advice. In the first release, the SEC provided guidance regarding the responsibilities of...more
On September 5, 2019, the Investor Advisory Committee will hold an open meeting (telephonic) in order to consider and address recommendations regarding the proxy process. On September 19, the Committee will hold an in-person...more
With the increased concentration of share ownership by institutional investors over the past several decades, the influence of proxy advisory firms on shareholder votes has grown dramatically, all while the proxy regulatory...more