Last week, the UK Competition Commission published its provisional findings in its investigation into the provision of statutory audit services in the UK. Unsurprisingly, the findings show that there are obstacles to competition, as if we didn’t know that already. Just in case you needed more evidence, some really interesting research in this month’s Financial Director magazine’s […]
Read MoreESMA has now released its final report on ‘The Proxy Advisor Industry’. It’s key recommendation, after long deliberation, is that there is “no current market failure related to proxy advisors interaction with investors and issuers in the European Union (EU).” This finding is very welcome, but to those in the industry, it doesn’t really come as a surprise. Which […]
Read MoreGuest post by:Magnus Furugård, President and Managing Director, GES International, a Manifest partner Asset owners and asset managers should engage more strongly on ESG performance with the banks in order to contribute to a more sustainable financial sector, a recent survey by GES concludes. The current situation in the industry, where the trust in banks […]
Read MoreProfessor John Kay has published his review of equity markets and long-term decision making which was commissioned by the UK’s Business Secretary Vince Cable. Here are the key recommendations, source: Kay review – Final Report July 2012 1. The Stewardship Code should be developed to incorporate a more expansive form of stewardship, focussing on strategic […]
Read MoreOptimising the Means and Ends of Good Governance Manifest is proud to sponsor the 4th Cambridge International Regulation and Governance Conference on September 6th, at Queens College, Cambridge. In a timely intervention given recent consultations at national and supra-national level on both sides of the Atlantic touching on stewardship processes, the conference will address regulatory responses to aspects of the […]
Read More…..on the facts. The world’s proxy seasons draw to a close with the last remaining Japanese vote deadlines on Tuesday 26th June. That’s one day after the European Securities Markets Authority’s consultation on proxy advisors closes. Shareholders do like to be consulted, up to a point. 2012 could go down in history for the most […]
Read MoreGuest post by Damien Knight, Director, MM&K Ltd The Coalition Government, through the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), has been consulting regularly since September 2011 about what it could do to reign in ‘excessive’ executive pay and strengthen the link between pay and performance in major companies. Today (June 20th 2012) the Business Secretary, Vince […]
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The future of proxy advisors – is there one? Sarah Wilson, CEO of Manifest spoke at the ICGN London Meeting on 20th March 2012. Her presentation at the breakout session “the future of proxy advisory” was based on the following article. Proxy advisors – sorting fact from fiction Don’t confuse what you’ve become familiar with […]
Read MoreVince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, this week announced the latest government consultation on executive pay, this time aimed specifically at enhancing shareholder voting rights on the matter. The consultation seeks opinions on the following outline policy proposals: An annual binding vote on future remuneration policy Making the vote on future […]
Read MoreToday’s announcement by Cairn Energy that it will withdraw resolution 2 at its General Meeting next week, demonstrates that shareholders can act on egregious pay awards when they really want to. Cairn had proposed the award of shares to Sir Bill Gammell with a value of £2.5m (based on average closing share price for the […]
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