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If you put up a statue called “Fearless Girl” that’s intended to point a finger at Wall Street’s lack of gender diversity, you shouldn’t be surprised if people ask whether you’re “walking the walk.” That’s the position State Street finds itself in – and according to this recent Guardian article, it hasn’t lived up to its rhetoric:

As selfies with Fearless Girl shot across social media, State Street, one of America’s leading money managers, was quietly and consistently voting down gender equality proposals at some of the country’s largest corporations.

On a shareholder proposal calling for Alphabet, Google’s parent company, to disclose any pay disparities between men and women, State Street voted no. On the same proposal before Wells Fargo, State Street voted no.

According to SEC records seen by the Guardian, in 2017 alone State Street rejected shareholder proposals to tackle gender inequality at least a dozen times – including at Aetna, American Express, Bank of America, Express Scripts, JP Morgan Chase and MasterCard.

In State Street’s defense, when it announced its gender diversity initiative, it focused on diversity at the board level & said that it would give portfolio companies a year to get their acts together. So, State Street’s efforts are still a work in process – but the media’s decision to scrutinize its voting record on gender diversity shouldn’t come as a shock.

SEC Staff Comments: 2017 Trends

This EY memo surveys trends in Corp Fin comment letters during the year ended June 30, 2017.  As this excerpt suggests, there aren’t a lot surprises when it comes to areas of the Staff’s focus:

– Non-GAAP financial measures topped our list of the most frequent topics in SEC staff comment letters for the year ended 30 June 2017.

– Emerging topics of SEC staff focus include how companies are applying the new revenue recognition standard as well as what they are disclosing about cyber risks and cyber incidents.

– The SEC staff also frequently comments on management’s discussion and analysis, segment reporting and income taxes.

The memo also shares some thoughts on best practices in responding to Staff comments:

– Responses to each comment should focus on the specific question(s) asked by the SEC staff, and those responses should cite authoritative literature wherever possible.

– Responses should address the registrant’s unique facts and circumstances. While it may be helpful to consider response letters from other registrants as a resource, registrants should not just repeat responses made by other registrants to similar comments.

– If revisions are being made to a filing as a result of a comment from the SEC staff, responses should indicate specifically where these revisions are being made. If additional disclosure will be included in a future filing, the registrant should consider providing the proposed language in its response letter to avoid an additional comment once the disclosure is filed.

– Companies should seek the input of all appropriate internal personnel and professional advisers (such as legal counsel and independent auditors) to determine whether they have responded to the comment letter in a complete and accurate manner. Waiting until a later round of comments to involve the necessary resources may delay or hinder a successful resolution.

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– John Jenkins