The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘RiskMetrics Group’

SEC Explores Changes to U.S. Shareholder Proxy System

The commission outlined a concept release seeking public comment on proposals to “promote greater efficiency and transparency in the U.S. proxy system and enhance the accuracy and integrity of the shareholder vote.” And SEC Commissioners, with no debate, unanimously approved issuing the concept release for a 90-day public comment period.

Senate Negotiators Move to Limit Proxy Access in Finance Bill

To the dismay of activist investor groups, Senate Banking Committee chairman Christopher Dodd proposed that investors seeking to nominate directors for shareholder votes be required to own at least a 5% interest in the company for two years. Few, if any, institutional investors would be able to meet such a requirement.

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.

Motorola Shareholders Disapprove of CEO Pay

The vote, reported by RiskMetrics Group, a proxy and governance research firm, marks the first time that a U.S. company has failed to earn majority support from shareholders during a non-binding vote on compensation. RiskMetrics said Illinois-based Motorola was one of only a handful of U.S. issuers that last year had less than 65 percent for its pay practices.

Oscars Skirmish Provides Lesson in Corporate Governance

A confrontation between The Walt Disney Company and Cablevision means more than 3 million New York-area homes may not be able to see the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. Language used by the corporate combatants hints at progress in the movement toward corporate governance reform.