ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
On 23 February 2024, the Investment Association (IA) issued its annual letter to FTSE 350 remuneration committee chairs providing an update on the IA’s Principles of Remuneration and emerging views on remuneration matters....more
A Federal District Court has just held invalid the SEC’s rule regarding proxy advisory firms. The case dates back to 2019(!), when ISS sued the SEC and then-SEC Chair Jay Clayton in connection with the SEC’s interpretive...more
This publication provides an overview of the top trending issues as we approach this year’s AGM and reporting season. We highlight key areas of AGM practices and reporting that will need to adapt to recent legal and...more
In recent years "overboarding" has become an important issue for many UK companies and investors alike. Several large asset managers as well as proxy advisors, including Vanguard, BlackRock, and LGIM, have tightened their...more
During 2021, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rule changes and provided public companies with useful guidance on various topics. In December, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) released its...more
On November 17, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted rules that will require the use of a single "universal" proxy card in connection with most contested elections of directors. These rules, which have...more
Glass Lewis announced updates to its United States Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines late November 2020. The 2021 Proxy Voting Policy Guidelines include a variety of changes from the 2020 version, including new provisions...more
On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to the proxy solicitation rules and issued guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers. The amendments, a...more
On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to its proxy rules addressing proxy voting advice provided by proxy advisory firms, such as ISS and Glass Lewis. The amendments were originally...more
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
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 November 5, 2019, the SEC issued a release proposing amendments to the federal proxy rules that are intended to enhance the accuracy and transparency of information provided by proxy advisory firms to investors and...more
The Background: The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") published guidance affecting proxy advisory firms and the investment advisers that rely on them as a follow-up to its November 2018 proxy process roundtable. ...more
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3 to 2 to adopt new interpretive guidance (the “Voting Interpretation”) applicable to investment advisers regarding their proxy voting responsibilities as...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently released the results of its “2018 Governance Principles Survey” and previewed potential changes to it’s 2019 proxy voting policies. Among other things, given input and...more
The dramatic shifts in the investment landscape—from individual to institutional shareholders and from actively managed funds to indices—have put pressure on boards to strengthen governance and oversight practices. On July...more
Earlier this week, proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) launched its Annual Policy Survey, which solicits responses from institutional investors, companies, corporate directors and other market...more
The SEC, by a two-to-one vote on October 26, 2016, proposed amendments to its proxy rules to require universal proxy cards in contested director elections at annual meetings of listed U.S. public companies. If adopted, the...more
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) announced the results of its 2016-2017 policy survey on September 29, 2016, which included responses from 115 institutional investors, 270 corporate issuers and 17...more
In late July, the SEC’s Investor Advisory Committee issued a recommendation that the SEC ”explore relaxing the ‘bona fide nominee’ rule embodied in Rule 14a-4(d)(1) . . . to provide proxy contestants with the option (but not...more
On February 19, the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published a Feedback Statement on its March 2012 consultation on the role of the proxy advisory industry as service providers to institutional investors...more