Does Proxy Advice Allow Funds to Cast Informed Votes?

By John G. Matsusaka and Chong Shu July 22, 2021 by renholding

Our examination of the votes cast by 155 mutual funds on over 6 million corporate election items during 2004-2017 led us to a surprising conclusion: We found that Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) proxy advice did not lead funds to vote …

Biden and the SEC: Some Possible Agendas

By John C. Coffee, Jr. December 2, 2020 by renholding

This is the gossip season, and almost everyone has heard a rumor about who will be the next chair of the SEC. Although I was interviewed by the Biden transition team (for my views, not as a candidate), my sources …

The Risks and Rewards of Shareholder Voting

By Bernard S. Sharfman April 23, 2020 by renholding

[Editor’s Note: This and the following piece offer a point/counterpoint on shareholder voting.] The SEC’s recently proposed rules on proxy advisers and shareholder proposals have made shareholder voting one of the most prominently debated corporate governance issues ever. In a …

Why the SEC’s Proposed Rules on Proxy Advisors Are Necessary

By Bernard S. Sharfman February 19, 2020 by renholding

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC’s) recently proposed Amendments to Exemptions from the Proxy Rules for Proxy Voting Advice are an efficient and necessary response to the “collective action” problem that is imbedded in the shareholder voting of public companies …

Do Anti-Pledging Policies Have Unintended Consequences for Corporate Governance?

By Jihun Bae and Ruishen Zhang September 18, 2019 by renholding

Many managers receive company stock as compensation and then pledge that stock as collateral for personal loans. The practice is increasingly common, and its potential economic impact is anything but negligible. For example, Larcker and Tayan (2010) document that pledged …

SEC Clarifies Investment Advisers’ Proxy Voting Responsibilities

By Securities and Exchange Commission August 22, 2019 by renholding

The Securities and Exchange Commission today provided guidance [rules available here] to assist investment advisers in fulfilling their proxy voting responsibilities. The guidance discusses, among other matters, the ability of investment advisers to establish a variety of different voting arrangements

…

SEC Chairman and Commissioners Issue Statements on Proxy Adviser Guidance

By Reynolds Holding August 22, 2019 by renholding

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s chairman and each of its commissioners issued a statement at yesterday’s open meeting on guidance about proxy voting and proxy voting advice. Chairman Jay Clayton’s statement is here. In support of the guidance, …

Finding Friends Is Hard: Long-Term Investors’ Relationship with Proxy Advisers, Activists, and Equity Funds

By Neil Whoriskey August 7, 2019 by renholding

Institutional investors are howling for US public companies to focus more on the long-term.^[1] This is unsurprising. Long-term focused companies produce significantly better results over time, reporting far greater revenue growth with less volatility, far higher levels of economic …

ISS Discusses the Seven Venial Sins of Executive Compensation

By John Roe May 24, 2019 by renholding

Compensation disclosures have grown significantly over the last decade (mostly for the better), and they continue to evolve with the ongoing engagement between companies and shareholders. Certain compensation practices are known for raising investor concerns, leading to difficult conversations between …

SEC Commissioner Discusses the Proxy Process

By Elad L. Roisman March 20, 2019 by renholding

Today, I will talk about the proxy process. But, before I segue into any substance, this is a good time for me to provide my first standard disclaimer: My views and remarks are my own, and do not necessarily represent …

SEC Chair Clayton Offers Remarks at Proxy Roundtable

By Jay Clayton November 16, 2018 by renholding

My fellow Commissioners and I have agreed to keep our remarks brief so we can move forward promptly with this important program. I am going to highlight four items.

First, thank you to Bill, Michele Anderson and staff from the

…

SEC Commissioner Roisman Offers Remarks at Proxy Roundtable

By Elad L. Roisman November 16, 2018 by renholding

Good morning and thank you to the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Investment Management for organizing this roundtable. I hope that everyone here will take this opportunity to engage in a thoughtful, meaningful discussion on the proxy process. If the …

SEC Commissioner Stein’s Opening Remarks at Proxy Process Roundtable

By Kara M. Stein November 16, 2018 by renholding

Good morning. Welcome to the SEC staff’s roundtable on proxy process. I would like to start by thanking Chairman Clayton for asking the staff to host a roundtable on this very important topic. I would also like to thank Michele

…

Cleary Gottlieb Discusses Updates to Proxy Adviser Guidelines

By Michael Albano, Julia M. Rozenblit and Emily Barry November 12, 2018 by renholding

As 2018 draws to a close, both Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and Glass Lewis are in the process of updating their 2019 proxy voting guidelines.

In mid-October, ISS launched its 2019 benchmark voting policy consultation period, pursuant to which …

ISS Comments for the SEC Staff Roundtable on the Proxy Process

By Gary Retelny November 9, 2018 by renholding

Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) appreciates the opportunity to comment in advance of the SEC Staff Roundtable on the Proxy Process that is scheduled for November 15, 2018. We focus these preliminary comments on two primary areas, proxy advisory firms …

Proposed New Disclosures for Mutual Fund Advisers

By Bernard S. Sharfman October 19, 2018 by renholding

According to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) release establishing the Proxy Voting Rule, an investment adviser “is a fiduciary that owes each of its clients duties of care and loyalty with respect to all services undertaken on the client’s …

Sullivan & Cromwell Discusses SEC’s Withdrawal of Proxy Advisory Guidance

By Marc Treviño, Misha Patel and Amanda Toy September 19, 2018 by renholding

On September 13, the SEC’s Division of Investment Management withdrew two interpretive letters issued in 2004 to Egan-Jones Proxy Services (“Egan-Jones”) and Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. (“ISS”). The letters described some of the guidelines under which an investment adviser could …

SEC Commissioner Jackson Issues Statement on Shareholder Voting

By Robert J. Jackson, Jr. September 14, 2018 by renholding

Today, the Office of the Chairman and the Division of Investment Management at the Securities and Exchange Commission suddenly raised questions about long-resolved issues regarding shareholder voting.[1] Because the Investor Advisory Committee’s critical work in this area is ongoing, …

The Subversion of Shareholder Democracy and the Rise of Hedge-Fund Activism

By Jang-Sup Shin September 6, 2018 by renholding

Hedge fund activists are technically just minority shareholders, yet they exert enormous influence, often forcing companies to undertake fundamental restructuring and substantially increase stock buybacks and dividends. For instance, Third Point Management and Trian Fund Management, holding only 2 percent …

Wachtell Lipton Discusses Shareholder Activism, Corporate Governance, and the Hunt for Long-Term Value

By Sabastian V. Niles June 22, 2018 by renholding

As the spotlight on boards, management teams, corporate performance and governance intensifies, as articles like the Bloomberg and Fortune profiles of Elliott Management (“The World’s Most Feared Investor—Why the World’s CEOs Fear Paul Singer” and “Whatever It Takes to Win—How …

1 2 Next »

The CLS Blue Sky Blog

Columbia Law School's Blog on Corporations and the Capital Markets

proxy adviser