Investors, Companies and Other Stakeholders Invited to Participate in ISS’ Annual Policy Survey and Development Process
ROCKVILLE, Md. (August 1, 2024) — ISS Governance, a leading global provider of independent and objective shareholder meeting research and vote recommendations and a unit of ISS STOXX, today launched its Annual Benchmark Policy Survey, a key component of ISS’ annual policy development process regarding potential ISS policy changes for 2025 and beyond. Institutional investors, public companies, corporate directors, and all other interested market constituents are invited to respond to the survey.
By way of background, ISS’ Benchmark Policy and voting guidelines are designed to provide research and voting recommendations consistent with ISS’ Global Voting Principles covering the four key tenets of accountability, stewardship, independence, and transparency, and to assist institutional investors in meeting their fiduciary requirements with respect to voting by promoting long-term shareholder value creation and risk mitigation by reference to responsible global corporate governance practices.
This year’s survey begins by seeking feedback on several topics specific to the U.S. market, including poison pills and executive compensation. The survey then moves on to elicit views with regard to EMEA markets. Questions cover general share issuances in France, virtual meetings and auditor rotation topics throughout Continental Europe, and cumulative voting for the election of directors in Middle Eastern and North African markets. Finally, the survey invites views on global environmental and social topics, specifically the disclosure of Scope 3 GHG emissions targets and workforce diversity.
“Our annual policy survey is an important mechanism by which we invite and obtain robust feedback from a wide range of market participants, and we encourage all interested parties to share their views by participating in the survey,” said Georgina Marshall, ISS’ Global Head of Research. “The results inform our policy development in a variety of ways, and we firmly believe that our commitment to this approach continues to enhance the value and relevance of our policies and of the research and vote recommendations we deliver to clients.”
The survey is slated to close on September 5, 2024, at 5 p.m. ET.
In addition to the annual survey and in keeping with its long-standing practices, ISS conducts a variety of regionally-based, topic-specific roundtable discussions and other engagements, gathering further input from investors, company directors, and others. These also factor into the update and development of ISS’ policy guidelines. As in prior years, after analysis and consideration of the survey responses and other key inputs, ISS will open a public comment period for all interested market participants on key proposed changes to its voting policies for next year. The open comment period is designed to elicit objective and specific feedback from all interested market constituents on the practical implementation of key proposed policy updates before final policy changes for next proxy season and beyond are published later in the year.
This year’s Annual Benchmark Policy Survey can be accessed here.
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About ISS Governance: Founded in 1985 as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) Inc., ISS Governance is a leading global provider of independent and objective shareholder meeting research and recommendations, providing multiple voting policy choices as well as end-to-end workflow solutions for institutional investors. More than 1,600 clients worldwide utilize ISS Governance’s actionable expertise to help them make informed investment stewardship decisions, and to help them manage their voting responsibilities. Covering over 50,000 meetings annually, ISS Governance leverages its extensive global footprint, deep experience, high quality data and analysis, unified client support, and technology infrastructure to continuously evolve and extend its innovative suite of solutions to meet clients’ evolving portfolio, fiduciary, and stewardship requirements. Learn more at: https://www.issgovernance.com/solutions/proxy-voting-services/
About ISS STOXX: ISS STOXX GmbH, through its group companies, is a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. With roots dating back to 1985, we today deliver world-class benchmark and custom indices across asset classes and geographies and serve as a premier source of independent corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence research, data, and related offerings. Our products and services give clients the scale and leverage they need to grow their business more effectively and efficiently. ISS STOXX, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is comprised of more than 3,400 professionals operating across 33 global locations in 19 countries. Its approximately 6,400 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings, as well as companies focused on ESG, cyber, and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS STOXX’s expertise to help them make informed decisions to benefit their stakeholders.
Media Contact:
Izabella Nagy, Communications Analyst
press@iss-stoxx.com
