Sky Blog
European competitiveness: Following the results of the 2024 European elections and the release of the so-called Draghi-report, European competitiveness has emerged as a key priority and a major stewardship theme. European competitiveness is a broad theme affecting various aspects, ranging …
On February 11, 2025, Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (ISS) announced that it will be halting consideration of certain diversity factors indefinitely when making vote recommendations with respect to the election and re-election of U.S. company directors under its Benchmark and …
Investors rely on proxy adviser recommendations to fulfill their fiduciary duty when voting in corporate elections. However, the proxy advisory industry is highly concentrated, with ISS and Glass Lewis controlling over 90 percent of the market,1 and the advice …
Year after year, the world’s activist-investor community meets at the Active-Passive Investor Summit, the premier shareholder activist conference in New York City, organized by research and advisory service 13D Monitor. Yet at this year’s gathering, on October 22, the mood …
It has often been argued that the ‘S’ in ESG has been overshadowed in the ESG acronym, having long played third-fiddle to corporate governance and environmental concerns. There are various reasons for this, one being that the social pillar has …
In contrast to the volatility that vexed the economy in 2022, markets rose in 2023 as inflation fell and the labor market remained strong. Entering 2024, ongoing international instability, rapidly changing technology and the United States presidential campaign are certain …
The January 2023 report ESG Performance and Enterprise Value: Do Firms with Stronger ESG Performance Have Higher Valuation Ratios? investigated the relationship between the ISS ESG Performance Score (a normalized version of the ISS ESG Corporate Rating) and two …
In contrast to class actions in the United States, the general principle in litigation abroad is that the loser pays the winner’s costs. This concept is known as “adverse costs,” and the risk of paying these costs can be daunting …
Robo-voting occurs when an investment fund mechanically follows the voting recommendations of its proxy adviser in corporate elections. The practice has become easier for funds with the development of online voting platforms that a proxy adviser can complete in advance …
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There have been 12 proxy contests that have gone to a vote under the SEC’s universal proxy rules, which became effective on September 1, 2022. A review of these contests reveals several themes.
Overall Results: Activists obtained a board seat …
Investors’ $1 billion tentative settlement – a Top 20 settlement of all time if approved – comes in the wake of years of scandal and resolves allegations that the bank concealed its inability to clean up its act. Prior scandals …
The January 2023 study “ESG Performance and Enterprise Value: Do Firms with Stronger ESG Performance Have Higher Valuation Ratios?” investigated the relationship between the ISS ESG Performance Score (a normalized version of the ISS ESG Corporate Rating) and two …
The 2023 proxy season is underway for public companies and their investors. Corporate secretaries, lawyers, and executives are actively engaged in the SEC’s shareholder proposal process. Consistent with recent proxy seasons, a significant number of companies are receiving proposals calling …
What a long, strange trip it’s been for Twitter shareholders since the company’s November 7, 2013 Initial Public Offering on the New York Stock Exchange.
Aside from the current litigation dominating today’s headlines between Twitter and Elon Musk – which
When the SEC adopted the rules governing proxy advisory firms two years ago, then-Chair Clayton emphasized that the rules were “the fruits of a rigorous and well-functioning rulemaking process where final rules reflect and benefit from the input of a …
Engaged shareholder voting is often perceived as the linchpin of sound corporate governance. That reputation is well deserved: Even as corporate governance has broadened its sights of late to accommodate a wider set of stakeholders, the pivotal role of shareholders …
Over the past three decades, there has been increasing concern about how corporate governance structures such as classified boards and dual class stock entrench managers, reduce director effectiveness, and reduce firm value. Likely as a result, mature firms have increasingly …
Last year’s proxy season saw investor support for an unprecedented number of ESG proposals, on issues ranging from climate change to human capital management to diversity, equity and inclusion. Proxy advisory firms increasingly recommended that shareholders vote for such proposals. …