The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Institutional Investors’

Proxy Voting for Sustainability

A sustainability advocate argues that it is illogical – and quite myopic – that many large institutional investors refer to shareholder resolutions on climate change and other material issues as “special interest,” “non-routine” or involving “special circumstances.” The opposite is true, she says: if companies aren’t addressing sustainability they won’t be producing long-term value for their shareholders.

Institutional Investors: The Next Frontier in Corporate Governance

Many corporate responsibility advocates think large institutional investors should serve as “stewards” of the companies in which they invest, helping them achieve long-term sustainable value. But do those investors have the capacity to perform the role now expected of them? Two prominent governance experts are not so sure – and think much more research and analysis is needed before the question can be answered.

Federal Appeals Court Vacates SEC Proxy Access Rules

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated Securities and Exchange Commission rules adopted in 2010 designed to give shareholders the ability to nominate directors through corporate proxy materials. The court ruled that the SEC “acted arbitrarily and capriciously for having failed once again…to adequately assess the economic effects of a new rule.”

U.K. Institutional Investors Urged to Increase Engagement with Management and Boards

Institutional investors and pension fund managers in the United Kingdom should do more to monitor and engage with the companies in which they invest – or else explain why they have not done so, according to provisions of a new voluntary code issued by the U.K.’s Financial Reporting Council.

Proxy Advisors Find Themselves in the Spotlight

Proxy advisory services play a key role because institutional holders turn to them for advice when voting billions of shares at annual meetings. Questions are now being raised about the influence of the services and whether more formal oversight is needed. As a result, proxy advisory services may be about to start receiving their own report cards for a change.