ISS’ New “Benchmark Policy Consultation” for Japan and Other Countries

On ISS' web site: Each year, the ISS Global Policy Board invites all financial market participants to provide feedback on proposed updates to ISS' benchmark proxy voting guidelines prior to releasing our final updates in November. In conjunction with the release of our 2014 policy updates on Nov. 21, we are opening a new consultation period on ISS' policy approaches to certain policies for consideration for longer term policy changes (beyond 2014).

This is the first year ISS is enacting this type of method for seeking market feedback with the goal of shifting our process from a seasonal to a continual focus on policy development. This period also serves as a forum for institutional investors, issuers, and other market constituents to provide feedback over a longer period of time.

Note: The consultation period closes on February 14, 2014

[Note: all consultation requests listed can below can be downloaded at:
http://www.issgovernance.com/benchmarkpolicyconsultation ]

Policy Approaches on the Following Topics Open for Comment:

Board

Director Tenure (U.S. and Canada)

Director Independence (U.S.)

Role of Company Performance in Director Evaluation (Japan)
[Download: http://bdti.mastertree.jp/f/8ctr51ou ]

Role of Company Performance in Director Evaluation (Japan)日本語

Independent Chair Shareholder Proposals (U.S.)

Audit-Related

Auditor Ratification (U.S.)

Compensation

Equity-Based Compensation Plans (U.S. and Canada)

Equity-based Capital

Share Issuances without Preemptive Rights (Continential Europe and Asia)

If you have any questions, please contact Bimal Patel at policy@issgovernance.com.

Japan consultation request: http://bdti.mastertree.jp/f/8ctr51ou

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.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.