June 14, 2021
Say-on-Pay Failures Hit Record High
According to data from ISS Corporate Solutions, 14 S&P 500 companies had failed to receive majority support for say-on-pay as of June 1st – which compares to 12 companies failing during all of last year. This FW Cook blog says that the prior record for failures at big companies was 13, set back in 2012. With votes yet to occur at about a quarter of the S&P 500, a recent FT article predicts that we may see up to 20 failed votes this year -that’s not even counting companies outside the S&P 500. An even bigger group will feel the heat to show “responsiveness,” since ISS and Glass Lewis policies put the heat on boards for any say-on-pay votes that get less than 70% and 80% approval.
What’s causing the backlash? Lynn blogged last week that ISS may be wielding greater influence. The FW Cook blog also points to discretionary pandemic-related adjustments as contributing to the voting results this year.
– Liz Dunshee