Institutional Shareholder Services Releases 2013 Proxy Voting Policies

pan>)--Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a leading provider of
corporate governance solutions to the global financial community, today
released its 2013 policy updates for the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia
and other international markets.
“Transparency and inclusiveness is a hallmark of ISS policy
development”
Each year, ISS Global Policy Board engages in a robust and transparent
global policy formulation process which culminates in benchmark (House
view) guidelines to be used in its proxy voting research for the
upcoming year. To ensure its voting policies take into consideration the
perspectives of the corporate governance community and the views of its
institutional clients, ISS gathers broad input each year from
institutional investors, companies and a variety of other market
constituents through policy surveys, issue-specific roundtables, and an
open comment period.
The ISS Global Benchmark Policy Guidelines consider market-specific
recommended best practices, transparency, and disclosure when addressing
issues such as board structure, director accountability, corporate
governance standards, executive compensation, shareholder rights,
corporate transactions, and social/environmental issues. In addition to
incorporating viewpoints from market participants, ISS policies take
into account regional regulatory changes, best practices, voting trends,
and academic research.
Highlights and key 2013 policy changes for the U.S. market relate to Pay
for Performance Evaluation ( including Peer Group Construction and
Realizable Pay), Board Responsiveness to Majority Supported Proposals
and Pledging of Company Stock. ISS Canada will also update its policy on
Pay for Performance Evaluation, including quantitative and qualitative
factors. Policy updates regarding Voto di Lista in Italy and
Overboarding and Board Tenure in the Hong Kong and Singapore markets are
also notable.
Transparency and inclusiveness is a hallmark of ISS policy
development, said Martha Carter, ISS Head of Global Research and
Policy. We firmly believe that our commitment to this approach enhances
the value of the research we deliver to clients, and it informs our vote
recommendations.
ISS will apply the updated policies to all publicly-traded company
shareholder meetings as of February 1, 2013. To learn more about the
policy updates and/or ISS policy development process,, please visit http://www.issgovernance.com/policy.
On December 6, at 11:00 a.m. EST; 4:00 p.m. GMT; 5:00 p.m. CET, ISS will
conduct a global policy review webcast. To register, go to: http://www.issgovernance.com/webcasts/2013PolicyPerspectives
About ISS
ISS, founded in 1985 as Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., is the
worlds leading provider of proxy advisory and corporate governance
solutions to financial market participants. ISS services include
objective proxy research and analysis, end-to-end proxy voting and
distribution solutions, turnkey securities class-action claims
management, and reliable governance data and modeling tools. More than
1,700 clients rely on ISS expertise to help them make informed
corporate governance decisions. ISS is located in financial centers
worldwide and is a subsidiary of MSCI Inc., a leading provider of
investment decision support tools to investors globally. For more
information, please visit www.issgovernance.com.
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Information Source: Business Wire