Yesterday, Corp Fin issued two new CDIs about non-GAAP financial measures that are used in connection with business combinations. They’re a follow-on to CDI 101.01 – which we blogged about last fall. This Wachtell Lipton memo provides an overview (also see this Cooley blog):
While CDI 101.01 helped address the recent spate of frivolous litigation claiming that projections disclosed to explain the assumptions underlying a financial advisor’s fairness analyses require GAAP reconciliation, plaintiffs’ lawyers subsequently seized on the fact that the CDI did not explicitly clarify whether the GAAP reconciliation requirements apply to projections shared with bidders or the board and opportunistically continued to pursue weak disclosure claims.
The underlying logic of the initial CDI plainly applies to these circumstances too: disclosure of internal forecasts to bidders or the board is not intended to communicate performance expectations to investors, and reconciling them to GAAP is neither useful nor required. Corp Fin has now helpfully confirmed that the same considerations animating the initial CDI extend to these additional factual circumstances.
SEC Impersonators: “This Is What Fraud Sounds Like”
Scammers impersonating the SEC aren’t something new (here’s a blog about one such scam). Yesterday, the SEC issued a warning – along with a one-minute audio recording – about SEC impersonators who are pretending to execute trades in an attempt to dupe people into giving them money or account info. Crazy stuff. Here’s an excerpt:
“The audio recording is what fraud sounds like,” said Lori Schock, Director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy. “We included the recording in our Investor Alert so investors can hear the lies and high pressure tactics imposters use to cheat potential victims out of their money.”
Transcript: “Conduct of the Annual Meeting”
We’ve posted the transcript for our recent webcast: “Conduct of the Annual Meeting.”
Following up on Broc’s blog about the passing of Julie Yip-Williams, there will be a memorial service for Julie on Saturday, May 5th at 5:30 pm, at St. Ann & Holy Trinity Church (157 Montague St, Brooklyn). In lieu of flowers, her family requests that memorial contributions be made to the “Colorectal Cancer Alliance” in Julie’s name.
This “Prosperity Report” from Allstate looks novel. It’s an 11-page document that is positioned before the proxy statement. The full document is: Prosperity Report, Letter from Independent Directors, Proxy Statement, Financial Report – the whole Allstate story under one hood. The “Prosperity Report” focuses on the company’s long-term goals, purpose & role in society.
The thing feels like “BlackRock Catnip.” It’s basically a human capital sustainability report (which is a priority for BlackRock, as noted in this blog) – and yes, BlackRock is the company’s largest holder. Another way to look at it perhaps is as an innovative expansion of the CEO’s “Letter to Shareholders” that typically kicks off the glossy annual report. Whatever your view, you have to admit that Allstate doesn’t slack on its proxy materials. You might recall Broc’s blog from last year, claiming that their proxy statement was one of the best…
Transcript: “The SEC’s New Cybersecurity Guidance”
We’ve posted the transcript for our recent popular webcast: “The SEC’s New Cybersecurity Guidance.”
Last Call for Early Bird Registration! Our “Pay Ratio & Proxy Disclosure Conference”
Early Bird Rates – Act by April 13th: Huge changes are afoot for executive compensation practices with pay ratio disclosures on the horizon. We are doing our part to help you address all these changes – and avoid costly pitfalls – by offering a special early bird discount rate to help you attend these critical conferences (both of the Conferences are bundled together with a single price). So register by April 13th to take advantage of the 20% discount.
Over the years, Broc has blogged about mistakes made in filings (here is one such blog). Members are kind enough to send us good stories about mistakes they’ve seen in SEC filings. Here are a few new ones (please send your own stories – we’ll keep them confidential unless you tell us otherwise):
I live in fear of internal notes making it into filings – always do a “ctrl+F” search for brackets, all team member names and NSFW words before giving the go-ahead!
Best Pay Ratio Disclosure to Date!
Hilarious item on the NASPP blog yesterday from McLagan’s Ryan Gildner – here’s an excerpt:
The newly formed Data on Ratio Comparison Society (D.O.R.C.S) is pleased to announce preliminary results from a groundbreaking ongoing study of CEO pay ratio disclosures. According to Ryan Gildner, president of the Society, “This is the first study of its kind and uses an unprecedented innovative approach to evaluate the content of CEO pay ratio disclosures. We hope our data will provide a new perspective on this controversial disclosure and lead to a more complete understanding of its value.”
Using a proprietary 16-point qualitative analysis, the Society has identified the following disclosure to be the best disclosure to date:
As required by Item 402(fu) of Regulation S-K, we are providing the following information:
For fiscal 2017, our last completed fiscal year:
– The number of words comprising the CEO Pay Ratio Regulation (Item 402(u) of Regulation S-K) is 2,933.
– The number of words comprising the Compensation Discussion and Analysis Regulation (Item 402(b) of Regulation S-K) is 1,282.
Our April Eminders is Posted!
We have posted the April issue of our complimentary monthly email newsletter. Sign up today to receive it by simply inputting your email address!
Here’s the intro from this blog by Cooley’s Cydney Posner:
Is it just me? Am I the only one that finds having to decipher a load of graphics in a proxy statement to be somewhat daunting on occasion? Inclusion of graphics in lieu of copious text has been almost de rigueur in proxy statements for several seasons now as a way to facilitate comprehension of sometimes complex data. And most often, those graphics are relatively effective for that purpose. As we head into the 2018 proxy season, however, this piece on CFO.com suggests that some forms of visual presentation may be, well, a lot more useful than others.
According to the article, featuring some graphics does make sense because research has shown that people “process visual information faster than verbal information. And we do it with a part of the brain that requires less energy.” That’s especially true with line and bar charts. Where things get trickier, the article suggests, is with pie charts: “a pie chart often makes it hard to figure out the exact magnitude of a data point (a slice) and uses a lot of text to display very little data. It also forces readers to rapidly move their eyes back and forth between the legend and the graphic to interpret the data. A simple table can be a lot more elegant, experts say.”
And more sophisticated tools, such as “exploding 3-D pie charts” can compound the problem, according to one academic. He also took issue with “stacked bar charts,” according to the article, “’because they make estimating the values of the variables on the top of the bars difficult.’”
Tomorrow’s Webcast: “Handling the Proxy Season – The In-House Perspective”
Tune in tomorrow for the webcast – “Handling the Proxy Season: The In-House Perspective” – to hear Intuit’s Betsy McBride, Juniper Networks’ Shahzia Rahman and Oracle’s Renee Strandness discuss how to prepare for the proxy season from the in-house perspective…
Here’s the results from our recent survey on Regulation FD policies & practices (here’s other Reg FD surveys conducted over the years):
1. Our company has a written policy addressing Regulation FD practices:
– Yes, and it is publicly available on our website – 5%
– Yes, but it is not publicly available on our website – 64%
– No, but we are in the process of drafting such a policy – 7%
– No, and we do not intend to adopt such a policy in the near future – 24%
2. For Regulation FD purposes, our company believes:
– Our website is a “recognized channel of distribution” – 29%
– We are still studying whether our website is a “recognized channel of distribution” – 17%
– Our website is not a “recognized channel of distribution” – 52%
– I don’t even know what this question means – 2%
3. Compared to our insider trading policy, our Regulation FD policy:
– Has the exact same parameters – 34%
– Our Regulation FD policy imposes a quiet period that starts earlier than our insider trading policy – 6%
– Our Regulation FD policy imposes a quiet period that starts later than our insider trading policy – 25%
– Our Regulation FD policy imposes a quiet period that lasts longer than our insider trading policy – 6%
– Our Regulation FD policy imposes a quiet period that lasts shorter than our insider trading policy – 28%
– We don’t have a Regulation FD policy – 26%
I found it interesting that Japan just introduced its own version of Reg FD. Better late than never…
Equifax: Special Committee Finds Insiders Properly Pre-Cleared Trades
Back when I blogged about the Equifax cybersecurity breach – and the question arose whether senior executives had pre-cleared trades in the company’s stock – I wrote: “At this point – as the LA Times article notes – we don’t know if these officers were aware of the breach before they made the sales and/or whether the company’s pre-clearance procedures were adequately followed.”
Equifax now has released this special committee report dealing specifically with this pre-clearance of insider trades. And after reviewing 55,000 documents & 62 interviews with the parties involved, it found that the insiders involved did indeed properly pre-clear the trades according to the company’s policy. That certainly is good news.
One of the things that I’ve blogged about more than I would like is how the Reg Flex Agenda is merely aspirational – and people should pay little mind to it (here’s one of my more recent entries). History certainly has borne out the truth – I imagine the SEC has missed it’s predicted timetables for rulemakings listed in the Reg Flex Agenda many more times than not. And not that there’s anything wrong with that, it’s always been viewed as a meaningless regulatory exercise for those “in the know.”
But now – probably due to all the Congressional & media attention being paid to it – SEC Chair Clayton recently told the Senate Banking Committee that he intends to make the Reg Flex Agenda more realistic, including streamlining it (see this Cooley blog).
Kudos if the SEC can pull it off. But I worry that by promising to make deadlines, the SEC is placing a bullseye upon itself. In recent years, the Staff has smartly avoided mentioning any “hard” time frames for conducting rulemaking. That’s because it’s nearly impossible to predict when a rulemaking will come out, even when you’re the one actually writing the rules! It’s difficult to even predict which season of the year it will happen.
There’s a myriad of review layers within the SEC, including:
1. Your superiors within your Division (and there might be quite a few of those)
2. The folks within the SEC’s Office of General Counsel
3. That ever-growing newish Division of Economic & Risk Analysis (DERA)
4. Each Commissioner (and their counsels)
5. Possibly other Divisions or Offices within the SEC, depending on the nature of the rulemaking
6. Possibly members of Congress (or their staff) if it’s a politically-sensitive topic
You think its tough getting your proxy through an internal review? That’s nothing. A proposing/adopting release can easily go through 20 drafts. Anyway, I draw your attention to the transcript of one of my favorite webcasts if you want to learn more: “How the SEC Really Works“…
Some of you might know that I’m rolling into “Week 38” of my second pregnancy…the “home stretch.” For all the parents out there – especially moms – you know that balancing your pregnancy & profession can present some unique issues. Here are 4 things I’ve experienced:
1. To-Do Lists: At this point, these are growing faster than the baby. There’s the work list, the mom/baby healthcare & benefits lists, the nursery list, etc. It can be overwhelming, especially since all the tasks have the same imminent – but unknowable – deadline.
With our firstborn, I managed to wrap up my work projects (and report for jury duty!) just before the baby’s early arrival. But, we were “those people” who didn’t have a name picked out & installed the car seat in the hospital parking lot. This time, I’d love to have 10 minutes of downtime to mentally prepare for the new person who’s joining our family. I’m not there yet – but there’s still hope.
2. Transition Mechanics: I’ve benefitted from good parental leave policies, but there’s an art to making this work. Good colleagues & relationships are key, since it’s scary to entrust your work and clients to someone else. You want to know they’ll do a great job but also that your position is secure and your clients will still want to work with you when you return. You’re also well-aware that you’re asking big favors. Co-workers are taking on extra work – with limited background and without an obvious long-term incentive. Clients are dealing with someone they don’t know, who might not have the entire backstory for on-the-fly questions.
It’s best for everyone if you’re extremely organized going into leave (more to-do lists, plus contact lists). Discuss expectations with clients & colleagues – separately & during intro calls. I also continued to monitor e-mail and was available for questions during leave. People are pretty respectful, but they like knowing you won’t hang them out to dry. Small thank-you gifts also never hurt.
3. Awkward Networking: I don’t like being pregnant in a professional setting. Pretty much everyone stares at and/or comments on your body. This doesn’t bother me much if the other person is relating to me as a fellow parent – maybe it’s even a good icebreaker – but you still need a tactic for redirecting the conversation to any professional topics you wanted to cover. And always have a stock response ready for people who aren’t as smooth. Because the cruel irony is that you can’t just smile and take a big drink of wine…
4. Mixed Feelings: Don’t get me wrong, I love our two-year-old more than life and I’m grateful and excited for the opportunity to care for another little person. But parenthood isn’t always easy or fun, the world isn’t always kind, and experiencing all that love also requires a lot of vulnerability.
On top of that, there’s the postpartum identity crisis – during which you try to reconcile your ambitious, always-available, pre-baby self with the realities of limited time & sleep, as well as whatever you & society think a mother/parent should look like. There’s a tension between proving yourself all over again and setting boundaries that allow you to actually enjoy your family. Both are necessary and evolve over time. As a woman in an historically male-dominated profession, I’m also constantly thinking about how my attitude, day-to-day actions & career decisions might impact my kids’ ambitions and worldview.
But there’s upside: the transition is a chance to examine your goals – and decide how to maximize your potential. Plus, you might be more creative & efficient.
I know I’m not alone on this journey of balancing pregnancy, parenthood & lawyering – email me with any experiences & “lessons learned” that you want to share!
Corp Fin’s “Partial” Global Rule 13e-4 Relief
Here’s something that Broc blogged yesterday on the “DealLawyers.com Blog“: Whenever Corp Fin’s Office of Mergers & Acquisitions posts a new no-action response, I take a gander to see if it’s new or unusual. Typically, they aren’t – and this new response to CBS falls within that category. It’s basically one of the formula pricing variety (albeit in the Reverse Morris Trust exchange offer context).
The Staff’s relief allows for the bidder/issuer to offer a number of shares in exchange based on the dollar amount of securities tendered – and relies on “formula pricing” mechanisms going back to the old Lazard Frères no-action letter from the 1980’s while utilizing the “pricing goes hard at least two days prior to expiration.”
So nothing surprising here, except the last paragraph in the no-action letter which states the Staff will no longer be issuing no-action letters for parts of this area. The global relief is somewhat narrow – it covers only Day 18 VWAP pricing in a RMT. So issuers can go on their own if they fit within the letter’s facts. Be careful – the request doesn’t expressly give global relief for Day 20 VWAP pricing, which has a few more conditions under Staff precedents.
This is clearly a sign that Corp Fin is looking to get out of the business of issuing timing-consuming no-action letters in situations where there is a well-trodden path of letters…
Speaking of the Staff, don’t forget to tune in next Wednesday, October 11th for the DealLawyers.com webcast – “Evolution of the SEC’s OMA” – to hear current & former Chiefs of the SEC’s “Office of Mergers & Acquisitions” discuss what that job is all about. Join Corp Fin’s Michele Anderson and Ted Yu, as well as Skadden’s Brian Breheny, Weil Gotshal’s Cathy Dixon, Alston & Bird’s Dennis Garris and Morgan Lewis’ David Sirignano. This is a unique event!
Do EPS Incentives Discourage CapEx?
This Goldman Sachs video suggests we’re in a period of declining capex – for the first time since the early 90s. Some think that’s because shareholders prefer dividends and buybacks over long-term investments. This Dealbreaker article suggests there’s also a connection to incentive pay structures:
How executives are rewarded has a real impact on capital allocation. When a CEO’s bonus is tied to earnings per share – a metric that can be juiced by gobbling up shares – that company will likely to do more and bigger buybacks. And when companies appear to buy back shares in order to avoid a negative earnings surprise, capex spending tends to be diminished in the following year. Executives whose personal wealth moves in tandem with their company’s stock price show a particular preference for repurchases over capital expenditures. Larry Fink has a term for this.
If this criticism sounds familiar, it’s because the potential use of buybacks to support stock prices became a “hot topic” a couple years ago. Here’s one of Broc’s blogs discussing it.
I was excited to get my “feet wet” by editing the new 2018 Edition of the popular “Proxy Season Disclosure Treatise.” It just came back from the printers – and you can order now so that you receive it hot off the press! This “Detailed Table of Contents” lists the numerous topics so you can get a sense of the Treatise’s practical nature.
It’s huge – 33 chapters & 1650 pages! And so lovable that even a small child can enjoy it, as borne out by this 30-second video:
Links to Exhibits: Where To Put The Exhibit Index
When the SEC amended its rules to require links to exhibits, it also amended Rule 102(d) of Regulation S-T & Rule 601(a)(2) of Regulation S-K to require the exhibit index to “appear before the required signatures in the registration statement or report.” We’ve been getting lots of questions about what this means: Does a separate list still need to precede the exhibits themselves?
Thankfully, Bass Berry’s Jay Knight contacted the SEC’s Office of Chief Counsel – and updated his blog to reflect the Staff’s informal answer to this question:
It’s permissible to combine the exhibit table with the exhibit index and only present one list of exhibits with hyperlinks, and a separate exhibit index is not required.
I think this is a good, practicable outcome and should dispense with the notion of having two lists of exhibits. Here’s an example of the approach applied on an 8-K.
Equifax Data Breach: Securities Class Action Liability?
Last week, Broc blogged about the possible “insider trading twist” in the Equifax data breach. That, along with an alleged 17% decline in Equifax’s stock price following news of the breach, might provide unusually strong fodder for a securities class action.
At least one of these lawsuits has been filed – and more will likely follow. Check out this analysis from Kevin LaCroix:
The recent Equifax securities class action lawsuit arguably represents the exceptional case where the company’s share price declined significantly after the announcement of the data breach. The share price decline following Equifax’s data breach announcement undoubtedly reflected the fact that the company’s business model depends on maintaining the confidentiality of the customers’ sensitive financial information. The sheer magnitude of the breach likely was also a factor; although the Equifax breach is not the largest data breach of all times, it may represent one of the highest profile breaches involving sensitive personal information.
The alleged insider trading may also make the Equifax case more attractive to prospective litigants. To be sure, the company has claimed that the officials were not aware of the breach when they traded. In addition, the sales themselves are relatively small and reportedly only involve small portions of the officials’ holdings. Nevertheless, the plaintiffs undoubtedly will try to argue that the officials sought to capture trading profits by trading in their shares before the news of the breach was publicly released.
The fact that the insider trading took place after the breach had been discovered but before the breach was publicly disclosed highlights the danger involved when a company delays publicly disclosing that it had sustained a cybersecurity incident. The company’s press release states that the company delayed disclosing the breach while it conducted a forensic examination of the breach to determine its scope. One of the issues that undoubtedly will be examined in great depth in the wake of Equifax’s data breach disclosure is the question of how quickly companies should disclose information about the breach, particularly if the cause, scope, and seriousness of the breach is unknown when a company discovers that it has been hacked.
How the Equifax case ultimately will fare remains to be seen; in particular it remains to be seen whether the specifics of the plaintiffs’ allegations are sufficient for the case to survive motions to dismiss. Notwithstanding the lack of success plaintiffs typically have had with data breach-related shareholder derivative lawsuits, Equifax may seek to file derivative lawsuits against company officials as well.
The potential insider trading aspect of this situation also highlights the need for well-implemented pre-clearance & special blackout procedures. Take a moment to participate anonymously in our “Quick Survey on Blackout Periods.” We have over a dozen related survey results posted in our “Insider Trading” Practice Area – as well as other resources, like this timely Dorsey memo.
There are changes afoot in the investment industry. According to this AlphaSense blog, nearly 40% of US equity assets are now held in “passive” funds, and 20% of US equity assets are now using sustainability strategies in investment decisions.
And while most of us have been beating the corporate governance drum for a long time, these converging trends emphasize that there’s an IR opportunity and financial impact. Here’s an excerpt:
The “new” type of activist campaign focuses on corporate governance, and tends to be more successful because the topics align with the proxy voting guidelines of passive institutions. Proxy contests can also benefit from the presence of passive investors because they may be looking to sell poorly performing stocks in their portfolios.
Investors are increasingly interested in expanded communications to include sustainability goals and performance discussions, a.k.a. extra financial, non-financial and other intangible measures.
Between 20-30% of companies have made shifts in their IR strategy as a result of the increase in passive investors and the increasing attention to sustainability. There’s an opportunity for those who can reach this audience.
What aspects of the company’s sustainability story are unknown, unrecognized or misunderstood, that could contribute to value creation if told in compelling and meaningful IR messaging? Where might aspects of ESG be germane to expanded mainstream investor interest and communications? How might developing ongoing relationships with passive investors and sell-side analysts increase shareholder value, not only by increasing demand for the company’s publicly traded equity and debt, but also by decreasing the risk of rogue shareholder votes?
State Street’s Climate Disclosure Guidance
Check out this new “climate disclosure guidance” from State Street. It’s aim is to help investors in “high-impact” sectors – oil, gas, utilities & mining – be able to evaluate climate risk preparedness and business sustainability risks. Consistent disclosures would be a step in the right direction.
State Street also expects companies in “high-impact” sectors to address climate risks in their board committee charters.
1. For our employee determination date, we’re using:
– October 31st (or equivalent for non-calendar year companies) – 26%
– November 30th (or equivalent for non-calendar year companies) – 7%
– Fiscal year end – 36%
– Some other date – 31%
2. When it comes to “CACM,” we’re using:
– Base salary – 24%
– Total cash compensation – 15%
– Total gross compensation – 21%
– Taxable wages – 25%
– Some other measure – 15%
– No CACM, using annual total compensation instead – 0%
3. When it comes to using the de minimis exemption, we’re:
– Yes, we’re using the exemption – 14%
– No, we’re not using the exemption – 51%
– Don’t know yet – 35%
4. When it comes to excluding employees of acquired entities, we’re:
– Yes, we’re excluding – 4%
– No, we’re not excluding – 28%
– We don’t have acquired entities – 48%
– Don’t know yet – 20%
We decided to release these course materials early since so many are grappling now with the type of issues addressed in this “How to” manual. Just like the upcoming “Pay Ratio & Proxy Disclosure Conference” in October will comprehensively address these – and many more – issues. This comprehensive pay ratio event is one that you can’t afford to miss. Also remember that our third pre-conference webcast is September 27th.
Register Now: This is the only comprehensive conference devoted to pay ratio. Here’s the registration information for the “Pay Ratio & Proxy Disclosure Conference” to be held October 17-18th in Washington DC and via Live Nationwide Video Webcast. Here are the agendas – 20 panels over two days. Register today.
Proxy Season: ISS Corporate Solutions Notes 8 Key Trends
Last week, ISS Corporate Solutions issued a press release detailing 8 key trends for the latest proxy season. Here they are:
1. Shareholder proposals seeking more disclosure on climate change preparedness fared well in 2017, and three such proposals—at Exxon Mobil, Occidental, and PPL Corporation — received majority shareholder support.
2. Proxy access proposals topped the chart of the most commonly filed shareholder proposals, and most of the proposals to adopt proxy access that went to a vote received majority support.
3. Taken as a group, political contributions and lobbying proposals were the second most frequently filed shareholder proposals in 2017, and saw a slight uptick from 2016.
4. There was a spike in the number of directors receiving low levels of support from shareholders; 102 directors at S&P 500 companies, or 2.4 percent, received less than 80 percent shareholder support during proxy season, the highest figure since 2011.
5. Median CEO pay at S&P 500 companies rose by 7%.
6. 2017 was the second time that most companies held votes on the frequency of say-on-pay proposals. While shareholders preferred annual say-on-pay votes at 80 percent of companies in 2011, they preferred annual votes at well above 90 percent of companies this year.
7. Despite the increased shareholder interest in annual say-on-pay votes, the median say-on-pay vote result at Russell 3000 companies remained quite high—96.4 percent, a slight uptick from 2016’s median outcome of 96%.
8. Shareholder rights continue to receive focus. One example is companies’ steady march from plurality vote standards in uncontested director elections to majority vote standards.
Proxy Season: How Retail & Institutional Investors Voted
This 6-page memo from Broadridge & PwC takes a closer look at common shareholder proposals for this proxy season – and highlights that institutional investors drove approval of trending ESG issues. For example, institutional investors voted 66% of their shares in favor of climate change proposals, compared to 13% support among retail shares.
