TheCorporateCounsel.net

Last week, Glass Lewis released the results of its inaugural Client Policy Survey, which reflects input on corporate governance, ESG and stewardship matters from more than 500 institutional investors, corporate issuers, corporate advisors, shareholder advocates and other stakeholders. This excerpt from the accompanying press release highlights some of the survey’s findings:

– Investors view financial results, excluding total shareholder return (TSR), and incentive payouts relative to TSR as the most important factors when reviewing executive pay-for-performance alignment.

– Overwhelmingly, respondents indicated that companies should set greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions targets. However, there was a split on exactly which companies should set targets — and exactly which types of targets they should set.

– More than 40% of investors would vote against boards that use plurality voting for uncontested director elections, and over two-thirds view the practice as problematic.

– Most investors believe all board-level roles should be considered when assessing whether directors’ commitments are overstretched.

The survey covers a lot of ground and includes responses addressing a variety of issues relating to board governance, director commitments, capital structure & voting rights, ESG & shareholder proposals, and executive compensation.

– John Jenkins