With the increased concentration of share ownership by institutional investors over the past several decades, the influence of proxy advisory firms on shareholder votes has grown dramatically, all while the proxy regulatory process has become more complex. Against this background, the US Securities and Exchange Commission issued two interpretive releases on August 21, 2019. This
Investment Advisers Act
SEC Guidance Issued on Proxy Matters
By Anna T. Pinedo on
At an open meeting today, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidance to assist investment advisers in fulfilling their proxy voting responsibilities in using the services of a proxy advisory firm, and provided guidance on proxy voting disclosures under Investment Company Act forms. The Commission also issued an interpretation of Exchange Act Rule 14a-1(l) that…
SEC Open Meeting on Proxy Related Matters
By Anna T. Pinedo on
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced an open meeting for August 21st in order to consider: guidance regarding the proxy voting responsibilities of investment advisers under Rule 206(4)-6 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as well as to consider whether to publish an interpretation and related guidance regarding the applicability of certain rules, which…
Proxy Advisory Firm Registration
By Anna T. Pinedo on
Shortly following the SEC’s proxy roundtable, Senators Reed, Perdue, Heitkamp, Gillis, Jones and Kennedy introduced a new bill, S. 3614, which would amend the Investment Advisers Act in order to require proxy advisory firms to register as advisers. The bill is referred to as the Corporate Governance Fairness Act. In addition to requiring registration…