GMI Ratings released today its third study this year of gender diversity on corporate boards of directors. The current study provides a comprehensive quantitative state-by-state analysis of gender diversity on the boards of Russell 3000 companies headquartered in the 50 U.S. states. (more…)
A new report, Environmental, Social and Governance Investing by College and University Endowments in the United States, finds environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) efforts by endowments are less prevalent than often believed, particularly given their history as pioneers dating back to 1970s anti-apartheid campaigns. These findings are particularly surprising at a time when ESG factors are increasingly factored […]
The UK backed Kay Review of UK Equity Markets and Long-Term Decision Making was commissioned by Business Secretary Vince Cable after the takeover of Cadbury by Kraft, which many thought was driven by short-term investors. After examination the Report made several recommendations that could improve the long-term focus fund returns if properly implemented. (more…)
Glen Schleyer and The Deal Pipeline’s David Marcus discuss how shareholder proxy access is affecting the dynamic between large long-term shareholders and boards of directors. (more…)
Marjorie Kelly is the rarest of authors, discussing some of the most difficult problems we face but doing so through an easily understood narrative of her own search for answers that is bound to draw in readers from a wide variety of backgrounds. Her analysis is insightful and the recommendations contained in Owning Our Future: […]
Last week I attended an SEC meeting with “key stakeholders in the shareholder proposal process to engage in an open and productive dialogue” about the staff’s involvement in the process. (my emphasis) From the invitation: (more…)
James Morphy, a partner at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, has written a fairly thorough report of the 2012 proxy season, available as a pdf. I mention it here primarily to bookmark it. (more…)
Steris ($STE) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 7/26/2012. ProxyDemocracy.org had information on 1 fund voting. I voted with management 100% of the time. (more…)
The common belief that firms exists to maximize shareholder value has led to massive growth in stock-based compensation for executives and a naive and wrongheaded coupling of the “real” market (the business of designing, making and selling products and services) with the “expectations” market (the business of trading stocks, options and complex derivatives). It’s a […]
Aligning CEO pay with shareowner value is key for many. A new tool (at least new to me), the Compensation and Wealth Calculator, from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Corporate Governance Research Program, allows users to see how the compensation of CEOs and other NEOs, which they have already received over the years in the form […]
How Not to Argue for Bonuses. Reprinted with permission from PIRC Alerts, 17 July 2012. PIRC is the UK’s leading independent research and advisory consultancy providing services to institutional investors on corporate governance and corporate social responsibility. (more…)
Important news tidbits you may have missed. The co-operative sector in the UK, which reached £35.6 billion, outperformed the mainstream economy from 2008 to 2011 by over 20 per cent, growing 19.6% while (more…)
For future reference, I’m bookmarking 2012 Say-on-Pay Votes: Fulfilled Expectations, Though Not Without Surprises by Shirley Westcott of Alliance Advisors, LLC, originally published in the corporate governance newsletter VIPsight. (more…)
Governance Minutes: 6/25/12 (more…)
However, viewing the venture as a tragedy because it is folding is like saying Neil Armstrong was a failure because he left the moon and came back to Earth. Just as the Blue Marble photograph of Earth helped us see our world in a new light, Moxy Vote helped us see corporations differently. This gang of explorers blazed […]
Dell ($DELL) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 7/13/2012. Voting ends 7/12 on Moxy Vote’s proxy voting platform, which had 0 recommendations “from good causes” when I checked and voted on 7/10/2012. ProxyDemocracy.org had information on 6 funds voting. I voted with management 67% of the time. (more…)
As Glyn Holton reported last week, the SEC denied no-action requests from Forest Labs ($FRX) and Medtronic ($MDT). (SEC Delivers For Shareowners On Proxy Access, 6/29/2012) Therefore, shareowners will get an opportunity to vote in favor of proxy access at upcoming shareowner meetings. (more…)
International Corporate Governance stands out as textbook that looks at the topic from a truly global standard. Author Marc Goergen first came to my attention in the 1990s as a member of the European Corporate Governance Network (ECGN), since renamed the European Corporate Governance Institute (ECGI). He brings both breadth and depth to a wide range of […]
Someday, it will go down in history as the first trial of the modern American mafia. Of course, you won’t hear the recent financial corruption case, United States of America v. Carollo, Goldberg and Grimm, called anything like that. If you heard about it at all, you’re probably either in the municipal bond business or married […]
Cordelia (IR) and Cooper (CFO) discuss a thorny disclosure issue facing the company. (more…)
Coca-Cola ($KO) is one of the stocks in my portfolio. Their annual meeting is coming up on 7/10/2012. Voting ends 7/9 on Moxy Vote’s proxy voting platform, (more…)
The United States Constitution was written on 4 pages in 1787. Now there are over 80,000 pages of regulations in the Federal Registry. In a time mired by fraud, waste, abuse, and corruption, in both the public and private sectors, an article by the Business Integrity Alliance argues that corporate directors who set (more…)
A roundup of just a few of many relevant news items worth reading. (more…)
GMI Ratings reports that combined CEO/chairmen cost more, present higher ESG and accounting risk, and provide lower long-term shareholder returns than if the positions are separated. Expect this report to be cited by shareowner proposals next season seeking to split the positions. (more…)