engagement Archives

Shareholder Proposals: Contested Battlefield or an Essential Investor Right?

February 26, 2025

The ability of shareholders to submit proposals is a fundamental investor right that underpins corporate accountability and good governance. However, this right is facing increasingly heavy headwinds as regulatory …

Border to Coast expands ESG voting and engagement scrutiny

August 16th, 2024

Border to Coast Pensions Partnership is advancing its monitoring of its wider external manager ESG voting and engagement to boost support for ESG resolutions.

The pension pool, which …

FRC releases major update to UK Stewardship Code

July 22nd, 2024

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published significant revisions to the UK Stewardship Code application process.

The regulator has also announced that it has identified five priority areas of …

PRI launches ‘Spring’ engagement process to tackle biodiversity loss

June 27th, 2024

The Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has launched the engagement process for Spring, an investor stewardship initiative focused on tackling the material financial risks of biodiversity loss.

The …

Engagement or voting? Asset manager advocates alternatives

Direct engagement with companies produces better results than shareholder resolutions at AGMs, an asset manager has argued.

US investment house T Rowe Price, which runs approximately $1trn, stated in its annual ESG report that it preferred to engage one-to-one with …

Environmental factors top list of investor priorities

Environmental and corporate governance issues topped the list of biggest priorities for the UK’s largest investors – but stewardship engagement remains an area of concern, a report reveals.

EY’s inaugural report into investor …

Views on revised UK code: Companies may find the changes challenging

Despite its shorter length companies may find adapting to the UK’s revised corporate governance code challenging, business leaders and advisers suggested. However, there was broad support for the approach taken by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) after it launched …

Sports Direct improves governance with Finance Director appointment

Retailer Sports Direct which has been under intense scrutiny from investors, politicians and the media for over a year due to perceived corporate governance failings and criticisms of its working practices has appointed a permanent finance director.

Jon Kempster will …

US updates ESG & voting guidance for ERISA funds

US regulators have responded to concerns that employee pension plans have not been exercising their shareholder rights by issuing updated guidance on proxy voting for 2017.

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) agency said that it is …

Shareholders urged to link executive pay at oil companies with climate change risks

UK investment campaign group ShareAction has urged investors to use the binding votes on remuneration policy at BP and Shell in 2017 to ensure the oil majors can demonstrate their commercial strategies are aligned with a move to a low …