SPAC vs. IPO: Is There a Difference in Executive Compensation?

By James F. Reda May 20, 2021 by renholding

An emerging company in need of capital to grow has an important decision to make: how and when to raise the necessary capital.

The traditional way of taking an emerging company public in an initial public offering, or IPO, is …

The Politics of Institutional Shareholder Voting: Transparency Before Reform

By Isabel Verkes August 13, 2020 by renholding

On July 22, the SEC finalized a sweeping rule change to enhance the transparency around the role of proxy advisers. This follows an earlier proposal to reform the process for including shareholder proposals in a company’s proxy statement.^[1] These …

The New Civil Code: ISS and Glass Lewis as Lawmakers

By Neil Whoriskey July 28, 2020 by renholding

ISS and Glass Lewis have arrogated to themselves the power to make law, promulgating a civil code of astounding breadth and detail, ruling over decisions on board composition, director qualifications, term limits, majority voting standards, executive compensation, capital structure, poison …

SEC Chairman Speaks on Amendments to Proxy Solicitation Rules

By Jay Clayton July 27, 2020 by renholding

Good morning. This is an open meeting of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, under the Government in the Sunshine Act. Today we have two items on the agenda, both continuations of our ongoing work to modernize and enhance the

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The Competitive Landscape of the Proxy Advice Market

By Chong Shu June 25, 2020 by renholding

Despite long-standing efforts to understand the proxy advice market, there is no way to identify the firms that supply specific investors with proxy advice, making claims about market shares conjectural at best. Nevertheless, it is widely believed that ISS and …

Why Proxy Advice Might Be Slanted

By John G. Matsusaka and Chong Shu April 30, 2020 by renholding

In the last two decades, the proxy advice market has consolidated into two companies that some believe control as much as 97 percent of that market, leaving little diversity in available advice. The companies, ISS and Glass Lewis, are opaque …

Mapping the Landscape of Comments to the SEC’s New Proxy Rules

By Jens Frankenreiter March 4, 2020 by renholding

In November 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at the roles played by proxy advisers in providing information and voting recommendations to clients. The move was preceded by substantively similar interpretive guidance …

Why the SEC Proposal to Regulate Proxy Advisors Is Flawed

By Ken Bertsch February 19, 2020 by renholding

[Editor’s Note: This and the piece that immediately follows offer a point/counterpoint on the SEC’s proxy advisor proposal.] The Council of Institutional Investors opposes the SEC’s proposal to create a new regulatory structure for proxy advisory firms.[1]…

Law Professors Urge SEC to Revise Proxy Adviser Proposal

By Yoon-Ho Alex Lee, Matthew Spitzer and Eric Talley February 4, 2020 by renholding

We write as legal scholars and economists who conduct research and teach in areas of corporate law, securities law, and administrative law. In addition, one of us has previously worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”) as a financial …

Davis Polk Discusses SEC’s Proposed Rules on Proxy Advisers, Shareholder Proposals

By Joseph Hall, Sarah Solum, Ning Chiu, Betty Moy Huber and Paula Simpkins November 14, 2019 by renholding

On November 5, 2019, at an open meeting the SEC voted (3 to 2) to propose amendments to the proxy rules. The proposed amendments relate to regulating proxy advisory firms. The Commission also voted to propose amendments with regard to …

Deals, Activism, and SEC Regulation Get Lively Airing at M&A and Corporate Governance Conference

By Reynolds Holding June 10, 2019 by renholding

A host of top attorneys, judges, scholars, regulators, and advisers debated the latest issues in corporate and securities law on June 7 at a Columbia Law School conference in New York, offering cutting-edge thoughts on everything from cybersecurity to shareholder …

SEC Investor Advocate Talks Investor Issues for 2019

By Rick A. Fleming April 22, 2019 by renholding

Good afternoon. I hope you are enjoying this year’s edition of SEC Speaks, which gives the public a good overview of all the work that is going on at the Commission.[1] In the Office of the Investor Advocate, we

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Latham & Watkins Discusses Key Compensation Items for 2019 Proxy Season

By Holly M. Bauer, David T. Della Rocca, Maj Vaseghi, Bradd L. Williamson and Stephanie Jeane January 25, 2019 by renholding

Even as the US government shutdown continues to create complexities for many companies,[1] it is business as usual for US public companies that are continuing their annual planning for the upcoming proxy season. Although 2019 introduces fewer significant changes …

SEC Chair Issues Statement on Proxy Process Roundtable

By Jay Clayton August 1, 2018 by renholding

Shareholder engagement is a hallmark of our public capital markets, and the proxy process is a fundamental component of that engagement. In 2010, the Commission issued a concept release seeking public comment on whether the U.S. proxy system as a …

Excluding Shareholder Proposals: When Ratification Creates a Direct Conflict

By Keith F. Higgins January 15, 2018 by renholding

The annual scrum between companies and shareholders seeking to have their proposals included in the company’s annual proxy statement is well underway. One of the bases upon which a company may exclude a shareholder proposal from its proxy statement is …

CamberView Discusses ISS Changes to Compensation-Related Methodologies

By Abe M. Friedman, Danielle Geier and David Martin January 4, 2018 by renholding

On December 14, ISS released its Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) documents on U.S. Compensation Policies and U.S. Equity Compensation Plans as well as a whitepaper on Pay-for-Performance Mechanics designed to help stakeholders understand upcoming changes to its compensation-related methodologies. These …

Gibson Dunn Discusses Proxy Advisers’ 2017 Voting Guidelines

By Elizabeth Ising, Lori Zyskowski and Ronald Mueller December 5, 2016 by renholding

The two most influential proxy advisory firms–Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis)–recently released their updated proxy voting guidelines for 2017. The key changes to the ISS and Glass Lewis policies are described below along with …

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