Proxy season began with a sharp focus on ESG, driven by large asset managers and vocal asset owners. COVID-19 further heightened attention to human capital and supply chain management. It’s against this backdrop that we took a quick look at 50 S&P 100 proxy statements filed as of mid-April to learn how boards and companies are communicating on ESG topics.
MORECompanies are being called on to prioritize the safety and welfare of workers as the pandemic underscores the hardships faced by employees.
MOREISS and Glass Lewis have issued guidance on their corporate governance voting policies that adds flexibility to reflect the realities of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and the challenges in responding to it. Public companies will want to consider this guidance since many institutional investors are influenced in their voting by the positions taken by these leading proxy advisory firms. The guidance covers the following subjects:
MOREAfter 2018 and 2019, TDCC once again held a large-scale forum ahead of the shareholder meeting season this year. The forum was conducted online for the first time due to the pandemic, and there were over 300 listed companies, including about 600 practitioners signing up for the event.
MOREAfter 2018 and 2019, TDCC once again held a large-scale forum ahead of the shareholder meeting season this year. The forum was conducted online for the first time due to the pandemic, and there were over 300 listed companies, including about 600 practitioners signing up for the event.
MOREJapan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) has brought fixed income and alternative assets, such as real assets, under the umbrella of its stewardship principles for its external asset managers.
MOREThe Financial Reporting Council (FRC) is to conduct a major review of how companies and auditors assess and report on the impact of climate change.
MOREBlackRock, Vanguard supported 7% of ESG proposals in 2019
MOREInvestors are more concerned about the implications of bad governance ratings than they are encouraged by evidence of improved governance, according to research from Paul Guest, professor of corporate finance, and Marco Nerino, a doctoral student, at King's Business School in London.
MOREVanguard, the world’s second largest asset manager, has refused to sign up to a group of major investors demanding that polluters respond to the climate crisis, despite its rival BlackRock relenting to pressure to do so.
MOREWe highlight five trends we believe will unfold over 2020: Climate change innovators: spotting the sleeping giants; new terms for capital: ready or not, here comes ESG; Re-valuing real estate: investing in the eye of the hurricane; the new human capital paradox: Juggling layoffs and shortages; and keeping score on stakeholder capitalism: looking for accountability in all the new places.
MOREInstitutional investors want to integrate environmental, social and governance factors into their portfolios and find the lack of acceptable policy frameworks and supporting data as the primary roadblocks
MOREBANGKOK -- As the Thai market matures and attracts more overseas money, companies are being held to higher standards of corporate governance, owing to the close scrutiny of asset quality by long-term international investors.
MOREThe auditing standards board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is working to modernize standards governing nonfinancial information to include cybersecurity and environmental, social and corporate governance issues.
MORERisk mitigation will be a major topic for Asian fixed income investors in the coming year as they brace for a possible recession, a recent survey of 255 Astute Investors shows. In the survey, conducted by Asset Benchmark Research, 60% of respondents expect governance to be of increasing importance as credit selectivity becomes more paramount.
MORECorporations should assess board gender diversity and evaluate and disclose climate change risk, results of Institutional Shareholder Services' 2019 Global Benchmark Policy Survey showed.
MOREResearch from EY focused on understanding the key priorities of the top 30 UK asset owners and managers when investing in companies.
MOREEnvironmental, social and governance issues were at the heart of proxy votes and proxy statements this year; yet more evidence that boards need to be focused on ESG oversight.
MOREThe trend throughout Asia is for companies to embrace ESG reporting. Goldman Sachs’ Sharmini Chetwode tells Andrew Holt how companies are increasing their ESG disclosures
MOREAs ESG initiatives and decision-useful reporting continue to gain importance, many C-suite and boards of directors are truly starting to pay attention.
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