Blog Archives
McKesson-GAPP-Executive-Compensation-2018
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders of McKesson Corporation (the “Company”) urge the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors to adopt a policy that when using performance metrics to calculate senior executive compensation, the Company shall … MORE
The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs: Are Fund Managers Asleep at the Wheel?
COMING SOON: The fourth report in the series, The 100 Most Overpaid CEO: Are Fund Managers Asleep at the Wheel? highlights the fund managers who continue to approve these pay packages at staggering rates (many funds approve nearly 100% of the pay packages they vote on), and contrasts them with those who take a stance against excessive pay with their votes. MORE
Facebook-Board-Committee-Risk-Oversight-Resolution-2018
Be it Resolved: Shareholders request Facebook’s Board issue a report discussing the merits of establishing a Risk Oversight Board Committee (at reasonable cost, within a reasonable time, and omit confidential and proprietary information).
DowDuPont-Sustainability-Metrics-Executive-Compensation-Resolution-2018
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request the Board Compensation Committee prepare a report to shareholders, at reasonable expense and excluding proprietary information, assessing the feasibility of integrating the company’s sustainability metrics consistently to performance based pay … MORE
Devon-Energy-Executive-Compensation-2018
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Devon Energy issue a report assessing, in light of climate change and the global transition to a low carbon economy, the benefits and risks of using oil and gas … MORE
Equifax-Exec Comp-Resolution-2018
BE IT RESOLVED, shareholders of Equifax Inc. (the “Company”) urge the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors to adopt a policy to use generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) when evaluating performance for purposes of determining senior executive compensation. The policy should be implemented in a way that does not violate any existing contractual obligation of the Company or the terms of any compensation or benefit plan. MORE
Wells Fargo execs get bigger stock awards instead of bonuses
Top executives at Wells Fargo, including new Chief Executive Tim Sloan, are set to get significantly larger stock awards for 2016, the same year the bank’s fake-accounts scandal came to light. Earlier this month, the … MORE
The unusual way KB Home punished its CEO for screaming profanities at Kathy Griffin
If the offense is embarrassing but something from the past — like the years-old graphic emails Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel sent as an undergrad fraternity bro — a mea culpa may suffice. If it’s disturbing … MORE
Vanguard fails to exert influence over high pay
May 6, 2017 – If you wanted to draw up a list of the asset management companies with the best public image, Vanguard would probably come near the top. The Pennsylvania-based fund house has built … MORE
US companies defy investors with switch to online annual meetings
Ford says it will join life of ‘forward-looking’ groups ending in-person event. The number of US companies scrapping the traditional annual shareholder meeting and hosting the event online has surged in the past 18 months, in defiance … MORE
Trump Critics on Climate Policy Hope Executives Can Sway Him
Jeffrey R. Immelt, General Electric’s chief executive, says climate change is real, a position at odds with the Trump administration. As a member of a White House manufacturing advisory council, he also has President Trump’s … MORE
Shareholders’ Rights Under Attack: Resolutions Could Be Limited to Billionaires
April 27, 2017-HuffPost-Shareholders’ rights to engage with management of companies they own are under fierce attack. If passed, a proposed House Bill would allow only the largest shareholders to file shareholder resolutions. Currently, resolutions provide … MORE
Many governance experts believe the main driver is the movement toward passive investment
April 7, 2017-IR Magazine- In corporate governance, change is more often evolutionary than revolutionary. But this year institutional investors are helping to create a foundational shift that is catapulting environmental and social (E&S) issues into … MORE
Meet… Conrad MacKerron, Senior Vice President, As You Sow
SRI Connect- April 18, 2017- Meet… Conrad MacKerron, Senior Vice President, As You Sow
Proxy Voting Guidelines 2017
The 2017 edition of our Proxy Voting Guidelines, written in consultation with Proxy Impact, offers socially responsible investors a resource to align their investments with their values. With advocacy positions on issues related to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) proposals, our Guidelines provide an easy way to navigate the issues, learn what’s at stake, and make sure your vote is counted. MORE
Paul Hodgson: Proxy Preview 2017 -‐ Shareholder resolutions in a time of Trump
Responsible Investor-March 10, 2017-As with last year’s Proxy Preview report, the release of this year’s Proxy Preview 2017 was accompanied by a webinar. The speakers were report authors Heidi Welsh from Si2 and Michael Passoff … MORE
It looks like this year will be big for investor activism
GreenBiz-March 14, 2017-Amid unprecedented uncertainty about the Trump administration’s commitment to environmental and social issues, investors are relying more heavily than ever on companies to take action on initiatives such as addressing climate change, conserving … MORE
Shareholders Ready To Fight For ‘Hard-Won Gains’
Financial Advisor-March 10, 2017-The 2017 proxy season is hopping. Shareholder activists have filed 430 resolutions with U.S. companies (compared with 370 a year ago). Although some resolutions have been challenged or withdrawn, 328 remain pending. … MORE
‘Overpaid’ CEOs a Risk for Investors?
Executive pay that is disproportionate to a company’s past performance may also signal that poor returns are coming, according to a study set for release on Monday by shareholder activist group As You Sow. The … MORE
RELEASE: Proxy Season 2017 To Highlight Big Gaps Beween Investor Expectations and New Administration Goals
OAKLAND, CA. – March 8, 2017 – Post-Election Proxy Season Sees Big Boost in Requests on Diversity and Equal Pay But Climate Change and Corporate Political Transparency Still Top the Agenda. With a new administration … MORE
Proxy Preview 2017
Climate change proposals continue to ask about its strategic
implications and how companies will adapt to physical
changes, new regulations and new technologies. They also
address methane leaks from U.S. energy production and
encourage more carbon tracking and goal-setting, but
renewable energy proposals have been cut in half. New
climate-related resolutions ask about high-carbon asset
divestment and carbon finance risks. Other environmental
issues include antibiotic resistance in the meat supply chain,
the reduction of food waste and nanomaterials in infant
formula. MORE
The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs 2017: Are Fund Managers Asleep at the Wheel?
CEO pay grew an astounding 997% over the past 36 years, greatly outpacing the growth in the cost of living, the productivity of the economy, and the stock market, disproving the claim that the growth in CEO pay reflects the “performance” of the company, the value of its stock, or the ability of the CEO to do anything but disproportionately raise the amount of his or her pay. MORE
Calpers Expands Tobacco Divestment to Outside Funds
Bloomberg Briefs-December 22. 2016-California Public Employees’ Retirement System, the largest U.S. public pension fund, is widening its ban on tobacco-related investments, with a plan to quit about $550 million in tobacco assets overseen by outside … MORE
Butler: The beginner’s guide to taking on the system
The Mercury news-December 9, 2016- For years, annual stockholder meetings were enlivened by so-called “gadflies” who seized the microphone and castigated the CEO and selected directors. Caught momentarily like deer in the headlights, these victims would … MORE
Mutual Fund Giant Vanguard Flexes Its Muscles
Fortune-December 8, 2016-The index-investing pioneer now has $3.8 trillion in assets. How will it use the clout that comes with all that money? The question made him uncomfortable. And suddenly he was getting it from … MORE
Climate Action Is Up to the Rest of Us Now
Bill Moyers-November 29, 2016-Responsible Americans can’t give up on shrinking the nation’s carbon footprint while a climate denialist and his fellow travelers have their way with the federal government. And while it’s true that market … MORE
Is Carbon Hiding in Your Nest Egg?
The Huffington Post – November 11, 2016 – If you have money tucked away in a mutual fund or a retirement account, you have the power to invest in the world’s transition to clean energy. It’s … MORE
The carbon bubble: why investors can no longer ignore climate risks
The Guardian – October 27, 2016 – The financial risks posed by climate change and bad investments could make an ugly dent in your retirement savings, a new report warns.
UK’s dirtiest funds revealed
Financial Times – October 13, 2016 – New ranking shows how exposed investment products are to polluting industries: A BlackRock fund that invests in eastern Europe and Asia has been named as the UK’s dirtiest fund … MORE
T.-Rowe-Price-Proxy-Voting-2017
BE IT RESOLVED: Shareowners request the Board of Directors issue a report prior to the next annual meeting, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, which evaluates options for bringing its voting practices in line … MORE
Ameren-CEO-Pay-2017
Resolved: The shareholders of Ameren urge the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Committee”) to adopt a policy requiring that senior executives retain a significant percentage of shares acquired through equity compensation programs … MORE
RELEASE: $11 Trillion in Mutual Funds Analyzed for Carbon Risk
As You Sow – October 13, 2016 – FossilFreeFunds.org, a website created by As You Sow, an environmental advocacy non-profit focused on climate finance, that enables all investors to know the climate risk embedded in … MORE
Mylan’s Pay for CEO Bresch Grates on Lawmakers, Many Investors
Bloomberg Markets – September 22, 2016 – Mylan NV Chief Executive Officer Heather Bresch was lambasted at a congressional hearing this week for taking home tens of millions of dollars as the company raised the price … MORE
Your 401(k) fund could be helping to destroy the world’s precious rainforests
QUARTZ – September 16, 2016 – Most working Americans have no idea how their retirement plans work. Until very recently, neither did I.
RELEASE: American Retirement Funds are Destroying Rainforests
WASHINGTON, D.C. – July 26, 2016 – A new transparency tool, “Deforestation Free Funds,” shows which global mutual funds contain palm-oil-related holdings, the fastest growing cause of rainforest destruction today. Friends of the Earth and As You … MORE
Deforestation Free Funds
Are your investments and savings destroying rainforests? If your retirement plan is managed by Vanguard, TIAA-CREF, or other major asset managers, the answer may be different than you think. Investments in palm oil–the fastest growing … MORE
The Power of a Shareholder Proxy
Yahoo Finance – February 19, 2016 – If you own stock in a publicly traded company, you’ll soon receive an email or package in the mail. Either will announce important issues up for a vote … MORE
Here’s Why We Can’t Rely on Shareholders to Fix CEO Pay
The Nation – May 4, 2016 – BlackRock, the top money manager in the world, claims to want to link performance with executive compensation. But its actions tell a different story.
BlackRock slammed over too many votes for high pay
Financial Times – May 22, 2016 – Seventy-five thousand people have signed a petition urging BlackRock to overhaul its approach towards pay over fears the world’s largest asset manager is too soft on excessive remuneration at … MORE
A Millionaire is Telling BlackRock to Say No to Big CEO Pay
Bloomberg – May 20, 2016 – Stephen Silberstein is fed up with elite complacency, corporate fat cats and self-dealing. And he’s threatening to make himself heard at the ballot box.
