May 3, 2022
Latest Say-on-Pay Stats: Low SOP Failure Rate & No Equity Plan Failures
Here are some of the latest stats from Willis Towers Watson on say-on-pay votes at Russell 3000 companies & equity plan votes at S&P 1500 companies, as of April 19, 2022:
– 4 failed say-on-pay votes at Russell 3000 companies (pushing the failure rate to 3% compared to 2.1% at our last check-in)
– 9% ISS negative say-on-pay vote recommendations (down from 12% in 2021)
– 69% rate of “high” ISS concerns re: pay-for-performance among proposals that ultimately received a negative ISS vote recommendation (down from 77% in 2021)
– 91% average support (and no failures) for S&P 1500 equity plans
– 3% ISS negative equity plan recommendations (down from 13% in 2021)
While we’re seeing some surprises on the environmental & social shareholder proposals that went to a vote this season, it looks like it’s less of a rollercoaster ride on the say-on-pay front so far (or have I jinxed it now?). As we face the second half of the 2022 proxy season, we’ll keep posting updated stats in our “Say-on-Pay” Practice Area.
– Emily Sacks-Wilner