Companies Archives

VW shareholder resolution requests a special audit of ‘dieselgate’ scandal

The German investors’ association, DSW, has tabled a shareholder resolution to be considered at next month’s AGM of carmaker Volkswagen (VW), which is proposing a special audit into the actions of its directors in respect of the ‘dieselgate’ scandal. Last …

Shell has muted opposition to executive pay but Standard Life continues to raise auditor concerns

Royal Dutch Shell experienced a relatively modest level of investor opposition to its executive remuneration report at its recent AGM with a 14% vote against, this follows the rival oil company BP’s loss of its pay vote last month. However, …

Short-term shareholders damage UK companies and wider economy claim two new reports

British companies are losing out – potentially by over £130bn a year – because they lack clear corporate purposes that unite all stakeholders in common goals and values, according to the interim report by the Purposeful Company Taskforce, which was …

Ferrexpo forced to hold second vote on director re-appointments

Ferrexpo, which manufactures iron ore pellets which are used in the steel industry, has received a high level of opposition from shareholders to a number of resolutions at its AGM this week (19th May) including those relating to the appointment …

More UK companies face investor opposition to executive pay this week

Standard Life, which as an institutional investor is known for its stewardship approach, faced opposition to the pay awarded to its chief executive, Keith Skeoch at its recent AGM (17th May). The investment and insurance company received a 22% vote …

Executive Pay watch emphasises US pay gap between CEOs and other employees

The US federation of trade unions, the AFL-CIO, has released its latest Executive Paywatch data which it says shows the average CEO of an S&P 500 company received an annual income of $12.4 million in 2015—335 times more money than …

Nomination committees no longer the poor relation?

Nomination committees have been the poor relation of board committees, according to advisory firm, Ernst & Young (EY). However this appears to be changing as companies adapt to demands for a more professional approach to director recruitment and to scrutiny …

Call on Vanguard to join others in responding to a low carbon economy future

Responsible investment advocacy group, ShareAction has called on US asset manager, Vanguard, to demonstrate its commitment to company engagement on climate issues by voting in favour of shareholder resolutions on climate risk at ExxonMobil and Chevron, in an open letter…

Dissent on pay continues at UK AGMs

Investors showed their concerns over executive pay at more AGMs this week. The largest rebellion was at bookmaker Ladbrokes which faced a 42% vote against its remuneration report – this was just above the 40% vote against received last year.…

Rio Tinto avoids large pay vote rebellion

Mining group, Rio Tinto, which is dual-listed in the UK and Australia, avoided a large scale rebellion over its remuneration report although there was a higher level of dissension than in previous years. The voting results were announced following the …