Rockville, Md.-based proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) released the results of its latest annual global voting policy survey on Monday that will help inform the firm’s policy recommendations for the upcoming proxy season.
The survey, which was carried out between Aug. 4 and Sept. 4, covered a range of topics, including: issues involving externally managed issuers; the provision of multiple voting rights in Europe; proxy access in the U.S.; overboarding for directors and CEOs, globally; and factors for addressing the qualifications of outside directors in Japan.
The report indicates that ISS received 421 responses to this year’s survey, including 114 from institutional investors and 277 members of the corporate community (including companies, consultants/advisors and other organizations representing companies). It also received a handful of responses from academics, non-profits and other governance organizations. More than 300 of the responses came from organizations based in the U.S., 38 are based in Canada and 51 came from Europe, in addition to responses from various other regions.
ISS will release its final policies for the 2016 proxy season in mid-November. It is planning to publish draft policies for public comment on Oct. 26 before they are finalized.
“The level of participation and the diversity of responses to this year’s survey have both been good. Consultation and feedback are the cornerstone of our inclusive and transparent benchmark voting policy development process,” says Georgina Marshall, ISS’s global head of research and policy, in a statement.
“The views we receive from a broad range of investors, companies and other market participants inform the ongoing development of the nature and scope of ISS’s benchmark policies, which will soon be released for public comment and additional feedback. This is another step in our dialogue and engagement with all stakeholders,” she adds.