Here’s a summary of key updates that BlackRock Investment Stewardship (BIS) recently made to its proxy voting guidelines, penned by Cooley’s Brad Goldberg, Beth Sasfai, Michael Mencher and Vince Flynn....more
Effective shareholder engagement is a business imperative. Companies that do it well are more likely than others to build investor trust, anticipate investor expectations, protect against activism, and earn support for...more
In a Friday appearance on Fox Business, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins signaled that the Securities and Exchange Commission is increasingly focused on curbing the influence of proxy advisory firms. ...more
Shareholder engagement has become a continuous, proactive process, requiring active participation from both investors and companies. This year, companies and investors have changed both their expectations and practices...more
Major proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis announced that it will stop offering its standard benchmark proxy voting guidelines in 2027, and transition clients to differentiated client frameworks. Glass Lewis’ change comes amid a...more
In 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments and issued guidance to modernize the rules governing beneficial ownership reporting under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Exchange Act...more
Recently, I blogged about how ISS is soliciting input on its annual policy benchmark survey. Glass Lewis has also released its annual policy benchmark survey, with responses due by September 15th....more
Under Sections 13(d) and 13(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), shareholders that beneficially own more than five percent of an issuer’s outstanding publicly traded voting equity...more
Key Points - Revised guidance from the SEC regarding ownership reporting is making institutional investors circumspect about raising issues with management. - Seeking to influence a company’s executive compensation, or...more
The SEC published updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on the filing of Schedules 13D and 13G/Shareholder Engagement....more
On February 11, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance ("Staff") of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC" or the "Commission") issued new and updated Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations on...more
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation, Question 103.12 (C&DI), that may significantly impact how public companies engage with their shareholders....more
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporation Finance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14M (SLB 14M) setting forth staff guidance on shareholder proposals submitted...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently published a new Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (CD&I) 103.12 regarding shareholders’ engagement with issuers’ management in the context of eligibility to report on...more
On February 11, 2025, the SEC staff published updates to two Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs) regarding the availability of Schedule 13G to certain investors, specifically concerning activities that could...more
On February 11, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission Division of Corporate Finance (Corp Fin) posted two Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (C&DIs): revised Question 103.11 and new Question 103.12 related to a...more
The SEC staff recently modified guidance indicating when “shareholder engagement” by an investor holding more than 5% of the stock of a public company constitutes “influencing control” that requires reporting on a long-form...more
The SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance recently issued new guidance regarding when shareholders can file beneficial ownership reports on Schedule 13G. While the 11 February 2025 Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation...more
As noted in the Cooley Alert from Brad Goldberg, Beth Sasfai, Reid Hooper and Michael Mencher that I blogged about yesterday, Corp Fin issued guidance last week that some thought could alter the nature of shareholder...more
The SEC Staff recently issued new guidance (C&DI 103.12) on how a shareholder’s engagement with a company’s management could disqualify the shareholder from using the SEC’s short-form Schedule 13G....more
On February 11 and 12, 2025, the staff of the Division of Corporation Finance (Staff) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) provided a pre-Valentine’s Day treat for public companies and shareholders to digest in the...more
On February 11, 2025, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretations (CDIs) relating to Regulation 13D-G beneficial ownership reporting by revising Question 103.11...more
Corp Fin has posted two new CDIs regarding filing of Schedules 13D and 13G under Exchange Act Sections 13(d) and 13(g) and related Rule 13d-1. The new CDIs address issues related to determining, for purposes of eligibility to...more
On February 12, 2025, the Division of Corporate Finance (the “Staff”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued new guidance on Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposals, which comes one day after the Staff...more