Statement in Connection with ISS’ Reply to State Attorneys General Letter

ROCKVILLE, Md. (January 31, 2023) — Today, Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) responded to a group of U.S. State Attorneys General to address issues raised in their January 17 letter to ISS and Glass Lewis in order to explain how ISS satisfies its legal and contractual obligations to, and serve the needs of, its diverse clients. A copy of ISS’ response is available here and a spokesman’s statement in connection with ISS’ response follows below.

“ISS, a registered investment adviser with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, takes seriously and is extremely proud of the fiduciary bond we have forged with our investor clients over the years. As an independent research and data provider, ISS helps its institutional investor clients exercise their voting rights as shareholders in accordance with their own investment parameters. ISS’ duty is to understand its clients’ needs and provide them with the tools and policy options necessary for them to make their own informed proxy voting decisions and vote their shares in accordance with their respective investment and fiduciary responsibilities. ISS has for nearly four decades worked tirelessly to earn its clients’ trust and is committed to continuing its long tradition of serving the institutional investment community in a manner consistent with its legal and contractual obligations.”