Late last month, ISS launched a PR campaign in the form of this “Protect the Voice of Shareholders” website, with the goal of correcting “misinformation about ISS and the role of proxy advisers” and helping “ensure investors’ and shareholders’ right to invest how they choose is preserved and protected.” Launched in the wake of various lawsuits and regulatory initiatives, the website says:

Excessive or agenda-driven regulation of proxy research firms could impair the ability of institutional investors to help ensure effective corporate governance and accountability at the companies in which they own stock, which in turn can adversely impact the retirement savings of millions of Americans. It can also undermine the free market.

Here are some facts highlighted on the site that you may or may not know:

– Approximately 90% of voted shares processed by ISS globally are tied to voting policies customized by the investor, instead of utilizing ISS’ Benchmark or Specialty policy options.

ISS voting recommendations reflect how its institutional investor clients want to vote the shares they own or manage in public companies, and the factors they deem most relevant to those voting decisions. Clients can choose these criteria by choosing from a wide array of voting guidelines, including ISS’ Benchmark policy, which is developed with input from investors and public comment, thematic ISS policies for those focused on faith-based investing, governance, or other such considerations, or customizable policies reflecting a client’s specific considerations. Clients not only choose their voting policy, but they also receive reports outlining the rationale underlying ISS’ recommendations and do not always choose to vote in accordance with its recommendations.  Clients also may elect to receive shareholder meeting research that is informational only and does not include voting recommendations.

– The ISS Benchmark policy voting aligned with board recommendations on management-sponsored resolutions approximately 96 percent of the time for S&P500 companies during the 2025 proxy season.

– ISS has implemented a firewall to segregate the work of ISS-Corporate, the business unit which provides products and services to publicly traded companies, from the ISS teams preparing research on publicly traded companies: ISS Research works independently of ISS-Corporate; ISS-Corporate is physically separated and is separately managed; ISS Research team members do not know the identity of ISS-Corporate clients; and ISS-Corporate maintains a “Blackout Period” during an issuer’s solicitation so that it does not sell to issuers during that period.

To provide transparency and demonstrate the independence of our proxy research, ISS discloses to institutional clients the identity of all ISS-Corporate subscribers, the types of products and services they receive, and the fees paid to ISS-Corporate.

The website also touts ISS’s recent victories in courtrooms — as it now turns to sway the court of public opinion.

– Meredith Ervine