ESG and SEC Enforcement in 2022
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – Advisers Act regulatory agenda
Videocast: Asset management regulation in 2020 videocast series – DOL: What’s ahead
ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently held that the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the securities industry were effectively “separated by a common language.” Giving...more
On July 1, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ended more than five years of uncertainty and confusion by ruling that proxy voting advice issued by proxy advisors is not a “solicitation” under...more
On July 1, 2025, a federal court of appeals held that the SEC's regulation of proxy advice exceeded its authority and the SEC's 2020 proxy advisor regulations are not valid. The court closely tracks the district court's...more
Join us for the next KPMG Board Leadership Center quarterly webcast as we discuss trends from the 2025 proxy season. Topics to be discussed include: - A look at proxy voting trends and outcomes - The board’s story and...more
On January 10, 2025, in Spence v. American Airlines, a federal district court in Texas ruled that American Airlines (the company) and the committee overseeing its 401(k) plans (the committee) breached their duty of loyalty...more
Nasdaq policy recommendations - On March 31, Nasdaq announced the release of a comprehensive set of policy recommendations in a paper titled, “Advancing the U.S. Public Markets: Unlocking Capital Formation for a Stronger...more
Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing has continued to be the subject of increasing regulatory, legislative, and litigation scrutiny. The scrutiny has accelerated following the results of the 2024 US federal...more
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
With it looking pretty likely that the federal government will shut down at midnight tomorrow, here are 10 things you should know based on the SEC’s “operations plan during a shutdown” guidance and Corp Fin’s list of 22...more
ISS issues statement regarding consideration of diversity factors in US director election assessments - Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) announced that due to the recent increased attention on diversity, equity and...more
Citing recent DEI developments in the U.S., ISS released its Statement on Diversity Factors in Director Elections on February 11, 2025 announcing that it will “indefinitely halt consideration of certain diversity factors in...more
Welcome to the latest edition of Fenwick’s Securities Law Update. This issue contains updates and important reminders on...more
Suddenly, DExit has moved from the theoretical to the real. Over the last several months, several publicly traded companies have filed proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission that include proposals to...more
On January 31, 2025, Vanguard issued its proxy voting policy for US portfolio companies, following the publication of BlackRock’s proxy voting guidelines for benchmark policies – US securities in December 2024. The updates...more
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) recently released its updates to its Proxy Voting Guidelines. These updates will take effect for all annual meetings held after February 1, 2025....more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, two leading proxy advisory firms, recently announced updates to their U.S. proxy voting policies in advance of the 2025 proxy and annual meeting season. Public...more
Welcome to the Corporate Briefing, where we review the latest developments in UK corporate law that you need to know about. In this month’s issue we discuss...more
As companies begin preparing for the 2025 proxy season, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading providers of corporate governance solutions and proxy advisory services, recently issued...more
In preparation for the upcoming 2025 proxy season, issuers should familiarize themselves with the updated Canadian proxy voting guidelines recently published by Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) and Glass, Lewis &...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has released updates to its Canadian proxy voting guidelines for the 2025 proxy season. The ISS updates are effective for shareholder meetings occurring on or after February 1, 2025....more
On January 10, 2025, Judge Reed O’Connor of the Northern District of Texas issued a much-anticipated ruling in Spence v. American Airlines, Inc., which marks the first time that a federal judge has written an on-the-merits...more
BlackRock recently published its updated “Proxy Voting Guidelines for Benchmark Policies - U.S. Securities” for the 2025 proxy season, along with its 2025 “Global Principles for Benchmark Policies” and “Engagement Priorities...more
For the 2025 proxy and annual reporting season, there are a number of key issues to consider and keep an eye on for further developments as preparations commence. This alert provides an overview of these issues and updates in...more
Just before the holidays got going, BlackRock updated their voting policies and engagement priorities. Here’s a laundry list of those updated documents...more