Norges Bank Investment Management (NBIM), the investment arm of the Norwegian central bank and asset manager for the Norwegian Government Pension Fund and the Government Petroleum Insurance Fund managing over NOK1,000bn (£107bn) in equity investments, has filed shareholder proposals at four US companies calling for independent chairmanship. Meetings at Harris Corporation (23rd OCtober), Parker Hannifin (28th October), […]
Read MoreThe Walker Review has ignited something of a bonfire under the UK’s current “Guidelines” based approach to corporate governance monitoring and enforcement. Leaving the politics of the debate aside for a moment, there is a genuine practical consideration for adopting a more formal approach to “Best Practice Guidelines” – ongoing suitability. Over the past 20 years the […]
Read MoreWhilst the future shape of shareholder engagement responsibility is debated in London, Brussels and across continental Europe, the debate in Dublin is a fierce as anywhere. In what is traditionally a very close-knit investment and business community, the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) and the Deputy Prime Minister participated in a full and frank exchange of views […]
Read MoreA report by the Asset Management Working Group of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative links the integration of ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues into investment processes with legal responsibilities of fiduciaries (including pension trustees, asset managers and investment advisors). It also calls into question whether the institutional investment industry responsible ownership […]
Read MoreThe Investors Working Group, a bi-partisan panel of experts created in February 2009 by the Council of Institutional Investors and the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity, has released its recommendations for reform and modernisation of the US financial markets. According to the report, strengthening existing regulatory agencies, closing gaps in the regulatory structure, […]
Read MoreSir David Walker’s review of the governance of UK banks, commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has published 39 recommendations aimed at improving the governance of banks and other big financial institutions (BOFIs). The aim of the report was to find ways of minimising risky behaviour and improving the way companies and shareholder communicate and interact. Many of the […]
Read MoreAs investors brace themselves for a slew of Japanese AGM meetings (the overwhelming majority of AGMs seem set to be held between 23 and 26 June), a compromise has emerged between the Keidanren (Japan’s business lobby) and the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry over proposals to improve corporate governance. The Ministry is due […]
Read MoreNine leading US pension funds have announced that they will be disclosing their voting intentions for shareholder meetings on a new web portal, ProxyDemocracy. AFSCME Employees Pension Plan, CalPERS, CalSTRS, Calvert Investments, Christian Brothers Investment Services, Domini Social Investments, the Florida State Board of Administration, Green Century and Trillium Asset Management are making their individual proxy […]
Read MoreThe quest for a single set of global governance standards is misguided and investors should stop using global governance standards based on US policy approaches. That’s the conclusion of Lucian Bebchuk and Assaf Hamdani in their latest paper: “The Elusive Quest for Global Governance Standards”. The key issue at the heart of what many will see […]
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