The Advisors' Blog

– David Swinford, Pearl Meyer & Partners

Recently, we wrapped up our new “2009 Say on Pay Survey,” which offers an in-depth look at how 231 respondents across a range of industries are approaching this major new governance initiative. While an advisory proxy vote on executive pay seems increasingly to be mandated for all public companies, the survey revealed that most companies are postponing taking many important steps to make programs more shareholder-friendly, such as:

– Focusing on market benchmarking practices and the link between executive pay and
performance
– Anticipating the attitudes and policies of institutional shareholders and proxy advisory firms
– Enhancing shareholder communications around pay
– Identifying any perceived poor pay practices