US Proxy Plumbing – Eight Years Later

Proxy Plumbing: SEC Re-opens Investigations

Plans to review US proxy plumbing infrastructure “long overdue, but very welcome”.

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced it will re-examine the US proxy voting system.

The US securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange …

Executive pay single figures – sound analysis or sound bite

As reported in the FT today, the 20th edition of the Manifest Total Remuneration Survey is now online. The first report was published after the Greenbury Report and over the years the survey has become a staple and …

Board diversity – the worst “dog ate my homework” excuses?

As the UK Government moves towards more detailed legislative proposals for enhancing corporate governance, it has published a list of “some of the worst excuses for not appointing women to FTSE boards”. Around 30% of FTSE350 companies have …

AGM resolutions: what you see may not be what you get

When you submit your proxy votes it’s normally safe to assume that what you voted on is, well, what is going to get voted on. Maybe not.

Now that the dust has settled on the takeover of GKN plc by …

IRRI Survey 2017: Manifest ranks Top 4th on Proxy Voting Execution

Manifest has achieved a Top 4th ranking for the independent provider that is best at delivering Proxy Voting Execution in the IRRI Survey 2017, the globally-authoritative review of trends in independent SRI & corporate governance research.

The IRRI survey …

European Commission’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan Welcomed

The European Commission’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance, launched last week, was broadly welcomed by responsible investment groups and those representing the financial sector. The Commission’s intention is to develop a financial system that supports the EU’s climate and …

AIM companies: New corporate governance requirements announced

The London Stock Exchange has confirmed that it has strengthened the corporate governance requirements for AIM companies from the 28th September this year with new entrants to the market having to comply with the rule from the end of March …

BlackRock is among the companies targeted for its lobbying payments

US Spotlight: investor coalition seeks improved lobbying disclosure

A coalition of at least 74 investors has filed resolutions at 50 US companies asking for more disclosure of payments for lobbying, including to trade associations. The resolutions have been coordinated by Walden Asset Management and American Federation of State, County …

Asian Spotlight: Investors urged to oppose Hong Kong dual class share structure plans

The International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN) and the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) are urging institutional investors to respond to the latest consultation from the Hong Kong stock exchange which proposed allowing certain companies with dual-class share structures to list. …

Directors survey: National corporate governance codes need local adaption

National corporate governance codes need to be adapted to take account of the challenges that exist when companies have dominant shareholders or small groups of shareholders collectively have a dominant share of the total shareholder vote according to a survey …