The Advisors' Blog

– Broc Romanek

As noted on their blog, Glass Lewis posted 54 pages of ’18 policy updates last week, which includes a summary of the policy changes on the first page (we’re posting memos in our “Proxy Advisors” Practice Area). As the blog notes, the updates include:

– Feature increased discussion of board gender diversity in our reports, including a phased policy that will see nomination committee chairs targeted with against/withhold recommendations if boards do not include a female director, or provide a cogent explanation for their absence, by 2019;
– Set out our phased policy on virtual-only meetings, which from 2019 will hold governance committees accountable if shareholders are not offered the same rights and opportunities to participate as at a physical meeting;
– Address the emergence of proxy access in international markets, including Canada, and explain our rationale for approaching such proposals in the context of the regulatory landscape;
– Harmonize our approach in areas such as board responsiveness and dual-class share structures, including within the context of recent IPOs and spin-offs; and
– Clarify our methodologies, including for our pay-for-performance (P4P) grades and treatment of outside commitments for NEOs, and on shareholder proposals relating to climate change and proxy access.