Moves to regulate proxy research would undermine relationships with shareholders, compromise research integrity and eliminate competition say global investors. Proposed regulation contradicts moves to improve objectivity in sell-side space. The US House of Representatives’ Finance Services Committee last week passed a series of Bills which seek to repeal large chunks of the Dodd-Frank Act which was passed in […]
Read MoreUK founder of the Virgin-branded companies and philanthropist, Sir Richard Branson, has added his voice to a campaign against inequality, in a video which explains why he believes social justice is good for business. He talks about meeting a 79 year old great-grandfather in Africa who had electricity for the first time and how he could […]
Read MoreThe UK’s parliamentary inquiry into the collapse of the retailer, BHS, continued lastweek with the questioning of Sir Philip Green, the chairman of Arcadia and former owner of the business. MPs tried to relate Green’s conduct in relation to the BHS pension fund, which has a £571m deficit, and the sale of the business to […]
Read MoreBig challenges remain if the financial sector is to make last changes to improve the diversity of their executives following the UK’s Gadhia Review and the launch of the government’s Women in Finance Charter, according to the think tank, New Financial. The UK government commissioned Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money, to lead a review of […]
Read MoreA coalition of over 80 institutional investors, with $4.8 trillion in assets under management, has pledged support for the creation of the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB) – the world’s first wide-scale benchmark on companies’ human rights policies, processes and practices. The investors include Boston Common Asset Management, Aviva Investors, APG Asset Management, BNP Paribas Investment Partners, […]
Read MoreA new Civil Society Organisation (CSO), the European Responsible Investment Network (ERIN), was launched last week at a conference in Berlin. The network is made up of 25 organisations from Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and the UK. Members range from Dutch sustainable investment associations and Italian ethical banking groups to NGOs that address […]
Read MoreMore radical solutions to rising executive pay need to be found than those proposed by the Investment Association’s Executive Remuneration Working Group in its recent interim report, according to the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE) and the High Pay Centre. Responding to the IA’s consultation on the report the High Pay Centre said the working group […]
Read MoreDespite public calls for pension funds to vote against WPP’s remuneration report at its AGM this week (8th June) the resolution was passed with 33.5% dissent – higher than 2015’s 22.2% protest vote. ShareAction had condemned the chief executive’s (CEO) Sir Martin Sorrell’s £70m pay packet, which makes him the highest paid CEO in the FTSE 100. The responsible […]
Read MoreDoes anyone know? Not yet. But, by the end of this month, the ethics think tank Responsible 100 believes it will have a better idea. The problem Responsible 100 seeks to solve is the credibility deficit endured by businesses which claim to be ethical, sustainable, responsible or values-driven. Responsible 100 believes that that businesses which actually mean […]
Read MoreAround a third (30%) of FTSE 100 companies are withholding relevant information from their annual reports and painting an inaccurate picture of opportunity and risk, according to a research report from the Valuing Your Talent partnership which includes The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA), the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, and the […]
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