CalPERS steps up activism

September 27th, 2007 | 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ... Loading ... | Email This | Print This | |

CalPERS, the activist US pension fund, filed nearly double the number of shareholder proposals in 2006/07 as in the previous 12 months. What is more, all of the six CalPERS proposals that appeared on proxy ballots in the first half of 2007 received investor votes averaging over 60%. This includes shareholder support of 77% for More…

Online opposition launched to SEC proxy access proposals

September 27th, 2007 | 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ... Loading ... | Email This | Print This | |

The Social Investment Forum (SIF) and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility have launched a website – www.SaveShareholderRights.org – as part of a campaign to oppose controversial US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposals they argue would seriously undermine investor rights.

The groups are campaigning against three SEC More…

Pay & Performance

September 2nd, 2007 | 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ... Loading ... | Email This | Print This | |

Top UK companies are increasingly incorporating non-financial factors such as customer satisfaction into executive bonus plans, accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has found. PwC’s research revealed that the number of companies offering bonus plans based on purely financial measures has halved over the past year, falling from 33% in 2005/06 to 17% in 2006/07.

This has been accompanied More…

Pension fund engagement on the increase

September 2nd, 2007 | 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ... Loading ... | Email This | Print This | |

Pension funds surveyed by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) are working more closely with the companies they invest in to actively promote corporate governance.

More than three quarters of these funds have helped change remuneration packages, board membership or corporate strategy, and eight out of ten funds believe governance standards are continuing to improve.

Furthermore, More…

Nasdaq abandons pursuit of LSE

September 1st, 2007 | 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars Loading ... Loading ... | Email This | Print This | |

 Nasdaq, the US exchange, wishes to divest its 31% stake in the London Stock Exchange (LSE). Nasdaq built up its stake earlier this year during the course of an unsuccessful takeover bid, and earlier in August backed an LSE/Borsa Italiana merger that will significantly dilute this holding.

Nasdaq said that it More…