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ISS ... has been granted its application for variation of its Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) as called for under the Australian Department of Treasury’s new rules for proxy advisers operating in Australia that take effect February 7.

February 6, 2022

ISS Granted Application for Variation of AFS Licence Mandated Under New Australian Proxy Advisor Regulations

ROCKVILLE, Md. (February 6, 2022) — Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”), a leading provider of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions for institutional investors and corporations, today announced it has been granted its application for variation of its Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) as called for under the Australian Department of Treasury’s new rules for proxy advisers operating in Australia that take effect February 7.

In response to the new regime, ISS has obtained a variation of its AFSL with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission and will continue its long-standing practice of providing Australia-based corporations subject to its voting recommendations complimentary copies of its reports on the same day they are published for ISS’ institutional investor clients. Corporate access to ISS reports is available through its secure, web-based Governance Analytics platform, which is managed by ISS’ separate, wholly owned subsidiary, ISS Corporate Solutions Inc. (ICS).  The platform automatically notifies a subject-company’s designated contact(s) by e-mail when the ISS report becomes available immediately after publication of the proxy advice. Company representatives can then access and download the electronic report securely and at their convenience. In addition, subject companies can specify and update their chosen recipients in an efficient and reliable manner.

Australian company representatives now registered on the Governance Analytics platform will continue to receive e-mail notification upon publication of ISS reports, while those who have not previously availed themselves of this service can write to the ICS support team here for platform access and to subsequently receive e-mail notification of the availability of ISS reports. (Of note, a company need not be an ICS client nor subscribe to any ICS products or services in order to access the Governance Analytics platform for the downloading of complimentary proxy research reports.)

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About ISS
Founded in 1985, the Institutional Shareholder Services group of companies (ISS) empowers investors and companies to build for long-term and sustainable growth by providing high-quality data, analytics and insight. ISS, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, along with Genstar Capital and ISS management, is a leading provider of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions, market intelligence, fund services, and events and editorial content for institutional investors and corporations, globally. ISS operates on an arm’s-length basis and has adopted policies designed to protect the independence and integrity of ISS’ research offerings. ISS’ 2,500 employees operate worldwide across more than 30 global offices in 15 countries. Its more than 4,000 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who rely on ISS’ objective and impartial ESG and governance research, market intelligence and fund services and data and analytics, as well as public companies focused on ESG and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS’ expertise to help them make informed investment decisions.

Media Contact:
Subodh Mishra
Managing Director
subodh.mishra@issgovernance.com

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