Category: Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

Say-on-Pay Voting Frequency ― The Financial CHOICE Act Adds Uncertainty to the Process

Board Governance and Compensation / Executive Compensation and Disclosure / Legislative Actions / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

9 Jun, 2017

Say-on-Pay Voting Frequency ― The Financial CHOICE Act Adds Uncertainty to the Process

The House passed the Financial CHOICE Act on Thursday as part of the new administration’s bid to overhaul Dodd-Frank. It is not expected to get through the Senate in its current form, but it does provide an interesting read. While current disclosure requirements have become too lengthy and cumbersome in many respects, the proposed change to Say-on-Pay voting frequency requires a materiality determination that may...

Shareholder Proposals Restricting Board/Management Access to Preliminary Voting Results May Be Excluded

Investor Relations and Communications / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings / SEC Rulemaking / Shareholder Activism

13 Jan, 2017

Shareholder Proposals Restricting Board/Management Access to Preliminary Voting Results May Be Excluded

On January 6, 2017, the SEC Staff granted no-action relief that would allow companies to exclude shareholder proposals preventing management or the board from accessing preliminary voting results on uncontested matters prior to the annual meeting, including a running tally of votes for and against, and using that information to solicit votes. See, The Boeing Company, Ferro Corporation, Honeywell International Inc., L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc.,...

Securities Law Matters to Consider for 2017

Equity Compensation / Exchange Act Reporting and Disclosure Effectiveness / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings / SEC Rulemaking

9 Jan, 2017

Securities Law Matters to Consider for 2017

2016 was a busy year for securities law developments, with the SEC adopting and proposing new rules and issuing significant interpretations that will affect SEC reporting companies in the coming years. We have highlighted a few of these recent developments in this post as companies prepare for the upcoming reporting cycle. With the new incoming U.S. administration it is important to note that some of...

Board Governance and Compensation / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings / Shareholder Activism

2 Dec, 2016

Recent Developments in Proxy Access

As the 2017 proxy season begins to unfold, proxy access continues to be a focus of shareholder proposals. Last year, companies that had already adopted mainstream proxy access bylaws, or that were planning to put mainstream proxy access bylaws up for a shareholder vote, were largely successful in being able to exclude shareholder proposals to adopt proxy access bylaws on the grounds that such proposals...

ISS Releases Executive Summary of 2017 Proxy Voting Policies

Corporate Governance Committees, Policies and Practices / Equity Compensation / Executive Compensation and Disclosure / Investor Relations and Communications / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

22 Nov, 2016

ISS Releases Executive Summary of 2017 Proxy Voting Policies

ISS has published an executive summary of 2017 updates to its benchmark proxy voting policies for the Americas, EMEA, and Asia-Pacific regions. The updated policies will generally be applied to shareholder meetings on or after February 1, 2017. U.S. policy changes are summarized below, and companies should keep them in mind as they consider policies on director compensation, dividend and vesting policies for stock awards,...

Upcoming CLE Event: Preparing for the 2017 Proxy Season

Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

21 Nov, 2016

Upcoming CLE Event: Preparing for the 2017 Proxy Season

On Thursday, December 8, Dorsey will present our annual review of developments and disclosure requirements for the upcoming proxy season. Click here for more information and to register for the event, which will be presented via webinar.

Glass Lewis Releases Its 2017 Policy Guidelines

Board Governance and Compensation / Corporate Governance Committees, Policies and Practices / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

18 Nov, 2016

Glass Lewis Releases Its 2017 Policy Guidelines

Glass Lewis released its updated policy guidelines for the 2017 proxy season for several countries, including the United States and Canada. The most significant change in the United States guidelines relates to director overboarding and was expected. The changes to the United States guidelines include: Director Overboarding Policy As indicated in last year’s guidelines, in 2017, Glass Lewis will generally recommend voting against a director...

Act Now! Glass Lewis Opens Its Issuer Data Report Service Enrollment

Board Governance and Compensation / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings

18 Nov, 2016

Act Now! Glass Lewis Opens Its Issuer Data Report Service Enrollment

On November 17, 2016, Glass Lewis opened enrollment for its 2017 Issuer Data Report (IDR) program. This program will cover companies in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway and all EU countries on a first-come, first-served basis. Space is limited, so the enrollment will close on the earlier of January 6, 2017, or as soon as the annual limit for each of the...

Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings / Shareholder Activism

16 Nov, 2016

First U.S. Proxy Access Nominee

On November 10, 2016, GAMCO Asset Management filed a Schedule 13D/A and 14N announcing that it had used the proxy access bylaw at National Fuel Gas to nominate a director candidate for election to NFG’s board at the upcoming 2017 annual meeting of shareholders. This nomination appears to be the first use of proxy access bylaws by a shareholder to nominate a director in the...

SEC Staff Makes Life a Little Easier for Reporting Companies by Permitting Annual Reports to Shareholders to be posted on Company Websites

Exchange Act Reporting and Disclosure Effectiveness / Proxy Statements and Annual Meetings / SEC Rulemaking

9 Nov, 2016

SEC Staff Makes Life a Little Easier for Reporting Companies by Permitting Annual Reports to Shareholders to be posted on Company Websites

On November 3, 2016, in a new C&DI, the SEC Staff stated they will not object if a company posts an electronic version of its annual report to shareholders on its corporate web site by the dates specified in Rule 14a-3(c), Rule 14c-3(b) and Form 10-K, respectively, in lieu of mailing paper copies or submitting it on EDGAR. The report must remain accessible for at...

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