MSCI Inc. (MSCI) announced it has agreed to acquire GMI Ratings, a provider of ESG (environmental, social and governance) ratings and research to institutional investors, through its subsidiary MSCI ESG Research Inc. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Said Remy Briand, Managing Director and Head of […]
News Corp got Andrew Dominguez and Eben Esterhuizen to thinking about why boards fail. They came up with the following: No Repercussions: Shareholder lawsuits don’t pose much of a threat to an incompetent board. Most U.S. companies incorporate in Delaware, where state laws exempt board members from financial liability for their actions. Poor Data: Some boards receive […]
On This Week in the Boardroom (TWIB), host TK Kerstetter, President of Corporate Board Member, sat down with Pat McGurn, Special Counsel, RiskMetrics Group, to debate and discuss the importance of what’s on the horizon for continuing board education.
I believe ISS/Risk Metrics created a policy on the Frequency of Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation (Management “Say on Pay”), a new proxy item required under The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Their Recommendation: Vote FOR annual advisory votes on compensation, which provide the most consistent and clear communication channel for shareholder […]
As reported by RiskMetrics and others, CalSTRS and Relational Investors “are threatening to wage a proxy fight at Occidental Petroleum over the oil company’s compensation practices and the board’s failure to abide by its retirement policy or announce a succession plan for its long-serving chief executive and chairman.” (CalSTRS and Relational Seek Four Board Seats […]
According to an article in Pensions & Investments, the BP disaster will cause managers and investors to become more aware of how ESG-related risks can be material to a company’s performance, experts say. This will drive managers and investors to pay closer attention to ESG risks and to push for changes in areas such as […]
On June 29th the Northern California Chapter of the National Association for Corporate Directors held a low-cost high-quality lunch-time meeting at the headquarters of the California Chamber of Commerce. Now that we have wrapped up the 2010 Proxy Season with issues this year like executive compensation, risk management and high profile withhold campaigns for some […]
As annual meetings approach, issuers and investors find themselves needing to work with RiskMetrics, Glass Lewis, PROXYGovernance, and other proxy advisors. Who are these firms and why are they so important? How can they make or break a campaign for board of directors positions or shareowner proposals? The Activist Investor provides a brief review and […]
According to a Wall Street Journal report, RiskMetrics Group Inc. has put itself on the auction block. “The company could fetch a premium of about 30% to its current value, said one person involved in a potential transaction. That would value the company, which has about 1,100 employees, all in New York, at around $1.3 […]
Noteworthy What Will TARP Bring? (RMG, 11/24/08), see especially comments from Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier Issues to Consider: Special Meetings to Authorize TARP Preferred Stock(TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog, 11/25/08). Most companies don’t have the authority to issue preferred shares under their charter and are scrambling to file preliminary proxy materials for a special meeting to obtain shareholder […]