The Swiss Federal Council recently published their “Proposal for an Ordinance against abusive remuneration practices” in response to the successful popular referendum on what has been dubbed the “Minder Initiative”. It is the first formal consultation stage ahead of the tabling of a formal legislative proposal, timetabled for November, in time for a January 1st 2014 implementation date. The […]
Read MoreEven more than its predecessors, Manifest and MM&K’s Total Remuneration Survey 2013 (May edition) deservedly earned headlines and an impressive array of coverage in the press after the launch earlier this week (even making it into Vogue, which must be a first for corporate governance research?!). However, one very important point which we made deserves particular […]
Read MoreLast 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 More….no evidence. Last year, ESMA conducted a consultation on the topic of empty voting, designed to find out the nature and extent of the decoupling of voting rights from economic ownership. Last week, they published the responses received, and concluded that no regulatory action is necessary – possibly because the overwhelming majority of respondents could […]
Read MoreThe AMF, the French equivalent of the FSA, has finally published an English language version of its February 7th report on the conduct of General Meetings at French listed companies. The report deals with the four broad themes of dialogue between shareholders and issuers, shareholder voting at general meetings, the board of the general assembly and its […]
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 MoreOver the same weekend that the UN wrestled with the question of whether to intervene in the internal affairs of Libya, the French financial markets regulator, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF), issued a stunning piece of surprise, summary intervention in the proxy advisory market. Having consulted with “the professionals concerned” according to their own […]
Read More“The investing community desires change”. Not something we weren’t aware of, surely? However, when it’s a summary of the almost unanimous response to the most comprehensive regulatory review of the US proxy system the SEC has undertaken in 30 years, this finding is highly significant. In short, the Securities Transfer Association analysis of the 199 […]
Read MoreVince Cable, the UK’s Secretary of State for Business used the Confederation of British Industry’s annual conference to launch an an investigation into possible failures of market and corporate governance which have discouraged a long-term approach to investment. The paper, ‘A Long Term Focus for Corporate Britain’, is looking for input on a wide range of questions: the […]
Read MoreComing so late in the life of the current parliamentary term, the City may be forgiven for already turning attention from yesterday’s budget statement to post-election budgetary announcements for substantive financial and fiscal policy developments. However, hidden in the text of yesterday’s Budget Report is a potentially highly significant statement, which could make voting disclosure a […]
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