ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
What are ISS and Glass Lewis and Why Should My Bank Care?
Much has been written, on ML BeneBits and elsewhere, about the US Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) so-called “ESG Rule” issued in November 2022 (the DOL Rule). The DOL Rule, in part, addressed the appropriate factors for an...more
In a speech on March 15, 2021, Allison Herren Lee, Acting Chair of the SEC, reported on the steps the SEC is taking to meet investors’ growing demand for climate and ESG information, stating that “no single issue has been...more
On March 10, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) announced that it will not enforce or otherwise pursue enforcement actions with respect to two recently issued final rules amending...more
On March 10, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a statement that it intends to revisit its final rules issued late last year on “Financial Factors in Selecting Plan Investments” (summarized here) and...more
In a somewhat expected development, the US Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) issued an enforcement statement on Wednesday announcing that it will not enforce the recently published final...more
On December 16, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) published its final regulation addressing the fiduciary duties that apply to proxy voting and the exercise of other shareholder rights in connection with investments...more
On September 4, 2020, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) published a proposed rule (the “Proposed Rule”) that would confirm its position that ERISA’s fiduciary duties of prudence and loyalty apply to an ERISA plan fiduciary’s...more
Keeping up the steady stream of new and proposed guidance coming from the US Department of Labor (DOL), the Employee Benefits Security Administration issued a proposed regulation on September 4, 2020 that would require...more
On September 4, 2020, the Department of Labor (the “Department”) published a proposed regulation related to proxy voting and the exercise of certain shareholder rights (85 Fed. Reg. 55219, the “Proposed Rule”) by fiduciaries...more
Proxy firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) offers a number of proxy guidelines for specific funds, kinds of funds and separate interest groups....more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), the two leading providers of corporate governance research and proxy voting services, have published their updated proxy voting guidelines for...more
The U.K. Financial Conduct Authority has published a Policy Statement incorporating its response to the feedback it received on its proposals for the implementation of the Proxy Advisors (Shareholders' Rights) Regulations...more
Recently, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis released revisions to their respective proxy voting guidelines for 2020. The ISS and Glass Lewis updates applicable to U.S. companies are discussed separately...more
On November 11, 2019, Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”) published its proxy voting guidelines updates (the “2020 Updates”) for the 2020 proxy season, effective for meetings on or after February 1, 2020. The...more
Proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recently announced updates to its U.S. proxy voting guidelines for the 2018 proxy season. Although the updates are not likely to have a significant impact on 2018...more
The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) published Interpretive Bulletin (IB) 2016-1 on Dec. 29, 2016, relating to the exercise of shareholder rights and written statements of investment policy, including proxy...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
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), two of the leading providers of corporate governance research and proxy voting services, have published their updated proxy voting guidelines for...more
Proxy Access - ISS has determined not to alter its basic approach to management and shareholder proxy access proposals for 2016. However, ISS has stated that it expects to release a FAQ in December 2015 that will provide...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) issued new U.S. voting policies and an updated Equity Plan Scorecard FAQ, both effective for annual shareholder meetings occurring on or after February 1, 2016. This alert provides a...more
Proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis have both released their voting policies for the 2015 proxy season. The policy changes for U.S. companies include updates to the firms’...more
Proxy research and advice entities Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (“Glass Lewis”) recently updated the guidelines each service will use to inform their voting recommendations for...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), a leading provider of corporate governance research and proxy voting services, has announced that it is replacing the Governance Risk Indicators (GRId) database, which was designed to...more