”The following are our observations on the second year of mandatory “say on pay” votes for U.S. public companies under Dodd-Frank thus far this proxy season.
Month: July 2012
Fidelity Worldwide Investments Has Become a Special Sponsor of BDTI
The Board Director Training Institute of Japan (BDTI) is pleased to announce that Fidelity Worldwide Investments has become a Special Sponsor of our organization.
GMI Blog-“Academic Research Validates Relevance of GMI Ratings’ Accounting & Governance Risk”
The following entry appeared as part of Governance Metrics International’s GMI Blog. GMI is the leading independent provider of global corporate governance and ESG ratings and research. Corporate stakeholders – including leading investors, insurers, auditors, regulators and others – use GovernanceMetrics services to identify and monitor risks related to non-financial measures covering key environmental, social, governance and accounting risk factors.
Disappointment About “No Outside Directors” Required
I read news that the governement will not likely to pursue to make it a legal requirement to have an outside board member. If this is true, a big disappointment!
“SONY Revival Prospects & Shareholder meeting ” BBC TV interview June 29, 2012
This is a BBC TV Interview about SONY. The expert being interviewed, Gerhard Faso lwas a BDTI DirectorBoot Camp student.
IRRC-Tapestry Report: “Voting Decisions at US Mutual Funds: How Investors Really Use Proxy Advisers”
Key findings of the interview-based research include:
1. Proxy firms’ role as data aggregators become increasingly important to asset managers
2. Proxy advisers’ influence extends well beyond the moment of voting, but mutual funds consider multiple factors
3. Asset managers have wide range of approaches to decision-making across the voting process
4.Three questions about level of internal deliberation on voting matters can help outside observers evaluate independence of asset managers' decisions
The UK’s “Davies Report” of 2011 – “Women on Boards” – (Good Perspective for US, Japan)
[Lord Davies] recommends that UK listed companies in the FTSE 100 should be aiming for a minimum of 25% female board member representation by 2015. He has recommended in his report for government that FTSE 350 companies should be setting their own, challenging targets and expects that many will achieve a much higher figure than this minimum.
Women on Boards: Review and Outlook (The Conference Board)
Gender diversity in the boardroom is an issue of increasing interest for shareholders of U.S. corporations. This report examines the prevalence of women directors in the Fortune 1000 and an additional 1,000 midcap companies. It also offers recommendations gleaned from interviews with more than 50 directors, CEOs, chief human resource officers, and governance experts for boards looking to recruit women directors and for women interested in serving on boards.
Registered users may download here:
U.S. AGM Proxy Voting Fact Sheet by the Conference Board
This edition of the Proxy Voting Fact Sheet contains a snapshot of the most relevant proxy season data for Russell 3000 companies that held annual general meetings (AGMs) between January 1 and April 30, 2012. The analysis includes:
“Where Are All the Women? ” – Interview with Lord Mervyn Davies
CEO and President of The Conference Board, Jon Spector, interviews Lord Mervyn Davies of Abersoch, CBE, about his research into gender diversity in the boardroom – an initiative of the UK government. (recorded September, 2011)