[ Press Release ] San Francisco, Calif. (April 12, 2012) – Glass, Lewis & Co., the leading independent governance services firm, today announced the release of its new, free Issuer Engagement Portal, which will enhance communication and understanding among issuers, investors and Glass Lewis.
Through this portal, issuers will have access to information on Glass Lewis’ approach to analyzing proxy issues, including director elections, compensation, financial transactions and shareholder proposals on environmental, social and governance matters, among others. Issuers can also use the portal to request a meeting with Glass Lewis, propose a topic for a Proxy Talk conference call (a public forum that enables companies or dissident shareholders to discuss issues in an open dialogue) and to notify Glass Lewis of any updated company disclosure or potential data discrepancies in our analysis.
Glass Lewis strongly believes that its analysis, research and recommendations should be based on publicly available information. To that end, it encourages companies to clearly and comprehensively disclose information about relevant issues for consideration by shareholders. However, when companies file additional information in amended proxies or on their websites or when companies perceive a factual discrepancy with Glass Lewis’ analysis, the new Issuer Engagement Portal will allow for issuers to easily and quickly contact Glass Lewis and get a response where appropriate.
“From our experience supporting the engagement processes of institutional investors around the world, we know first-hand the value of transparency, good communication and responsiveness to constructive dialogue. With the launch of our new portal, we are practicing what we preach,” said Katherine Rabin, CEO of Glass Lewis. “Going forward, we will continue to build new tools that support dialogue and understanding among all participants in the governance chain.”
In addition to facilitating communication between issuers and Glass Lewis, the new portal includes a “Frequently Asked Questions” section that provides issuers with a mechanism to obtain immediate answers to the most common inquiries, as well as a number of different documents, including summary guidelines and a description of our proprietary Pay-for-Performance model, that provide detailed explanations of the various features included in Glass Lewis Proxy PaperTM analyses.
The Issuer Engagement Portal can be accessed through the following link:
www.glasslewis.com/issuer
For more information on Glass, Lewis & Co. please contact:
Jaron Schneider, (415) 738-4115, jschneider@glasslewis.com; www.glasslewis.com
About Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC
Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC is a leading independent governance services and investment research firm, serving institutional investors worldwide that collectively manage more than $15 trillion in assets. Glass Lewis supports the creation and preservation of long-term shareholder value through high-quality, objective analysis of governance, finance, accounting, legal, political and regulatory risks at tens of thousands of public companies across the globe, and provides leading-edge vote management technology and diligent client service. Founded in 2003, Glass Lewis is headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Ireland, and Australia.
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The Board Director Training Institute (BDTI) is a "public interest" nonprofit in Japan dedicated to training about directorship, corporate governance, and related management techniques. It is certified by the Japanese government to conduct these activities as a regulated nonprofit. Read a summary about BDTI here, and see a menu of its services for both corporations and investors here.