A new report on board diversity from SpencerStuart finds more rhetoric, less progress. While it attributes that discrepancy to “low turnover,” that suggests that making board composition decisions is not a perpetual obligation and just because someone is a good director does not mean it is not time to replace him (it is usually him)…
Republicans threaten Wall Street over climate positions – The Washington Post
As we have said many times before, conservatives love to rhapsodize about the purity of the free market until they do not like the results, Any effort to distort market-based assessments of risk and return, including the risks and opportunities of climate change, is a subsidy for corporations that cannot make their case to the…
SEC Rescinds Trump-Era Rules Governing Proxy Advisors
The SEC’s release: The Securities and Exchange Commission today voted to adopt amendments to its rules governing proxy voting advice as proposed in November 2021. The final amendments aim to avoid burdens on proxy voting advice businesses that may impair the timeliness and independence of their advice. The amendments also address misperceptions about liability standards…
SEC repeals Trump-era restrictions on proxy advice companies – MarketWatch
As we hoped and expected, the SEC has rescinded the proxy advisory rules pushed through by partisan vote at the end of the Trump administration. (The complaint from the minority Commissioners about partisanship is predictable but utterly hypocritical.) We regret that the rules maintained the categorization of proxy advisory reports as solicitations but the CII…
Anti-ESG ETF called “God Bless America” plans to come to market | Seeking Alpha
Another new “anti-ESG fund” is starting up. We look forward to comparing its performance to the competition. A new fund is in the works to play against the growing ESG trend. The exchange traded fund is set to be called the God Bless America ETF (YALL), which will act as an anti-ESG exchange traded fund…
Shareholders´ Activism: The impact of Blockchain in Corporate Governance – Econlib
One of the biggest challenges of governance over the blockchain is understanding how to design and build systems that balance the interests of each of these stakeholders and ensure the success of the network, regardless of how that success is defined (De Filippi and Loveluck, 2016). Thus, blockchain governance is about how decisions are made,…
Twitter Sues Elon Musk to Force Him to Complete $44 Billion Acquisition – The New York Times
Our prediction is that this will end in a settlement with Musk paying somewhat less than the $1 billion kill fee he recklessly agreed to when he even more recklessly waived almost all rights of inspection. This may be Twitter’s all-time highest ROI. Twitter sued Elon Musk on Tuesday to force the billionaire to complete…
How Issuers and Investors Can Find Common Ground on ESG
As BNY Mellon discovered in a recent survey, investor pressure on issuers echoes these societal changes. Consequently, issuers and investors are increasingly focused on the disclosure and engagement practices related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) topics.Our research finds that ESG considerations are rapidly becoming a core element of Investor Relations, enhancing IR teams’ practices…
Poised for Change? KPMG Boardroom Diversity Survey
KPMG Board Leadership Center’s new survey on board diversity found: Many directors would make moderate changes to their board’s composition if starting from a clean sheet. Directors have concerns about blind spots and missed opportunities due to a lack of diverse views. Sixty-nine percent of directors say board diversity of composition and thinking is relevant…
Audit watchdog to overhaul UK corporate governance code | Financial Times
The UK’s corporate governance code will be overhauled for the first time in four years with new rules to make boards more responsible for fraud and their company’s finances, and strengthen accountability for bad behaviour. The Financial Reporting Council, which oversees the audit industry, on Tuesday laid out plans to carry out recommendations made by…
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