The Advisors' Blog

– Broc Romanek

Here’s the intro from this Wachtell Lipton memo (that memo is posted on TheCorporateCounsel.net – this “Meridian Compensation Partners” memo also covers this development):

In the latest effort to enhance transparency by proxy advisory firms, six members of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee sent letters to ISS & Glass Lewis – which they noted control 97% of the proxy advisory industry – requesting information regarding their eligibility for exemption from the proxy rules, accuracy of reporting and potential conflicts of interests.

The Senators’ letters reflect many of the concerns underlying the bill passed by the House of Representatives last December, titled the “Corporate Governance Reform and Transparency Act of 2017,” which would require proxy advisory firms to register with the SEC, disclose potential conflicts of interest and codes of ethics, and publicize their methodologies for formulating proxy recommendations.