ERISA Plan Fiduciaries’ Proxy Voting: Regulatory Updates
Back in June, Texas passed a law – known as “Senate Bill 2337” – that mandates certain disclosures when proxy advisors recommend casting a vote for “non-financial reasons” or provide conflicting advice to multiple clients....more
On June 20, 2025, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) signed SB 2337, a new law that significantly alters the landscape for proxy advisory firms (e.g., Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Service (ISS)) providing services to...more
Is it ok for an agency to change its mind? Well that depends. If the agency was “arbitrary and capricious” in failing to provide an adequate explanation to justify its change, a court may well vacate that about-face. At...more
On February 23, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, in a case dating back to 2019, vacated certain SEC rule amendments regarding proxy advisory firms, holding that “the SEC acted contrary to law and in...more
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, the leading proxy voting advisory firms in the United States, have announced updates and clarifications for their voting guidelines for the U.S. market for the 2024...more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) adopted amendments to its rules governing proxy voting. In addition to rescinding rules applicable to third-party proxy voting advice businesses (“proxy...more
Our Securities Group examines how the Securities and Exchange Commission has rescinded a pair of Trump Administration rules that affected proxy advisory firms’ ability to deliver timely advice to their clients....more
On July 13, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission held a lively meeting at which it voted to adopt final amendments regarding the applicability of the proxy rules to proxy advisory firms, which are also known as proxy...more
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) voted 3-2 to take the following actions: Propose new amendments to Rule 14a-8, the shareholder proposal rule. Adopt new amendments to the rules regarding proxy...more
[This post revises and updates my earlier post primarily to reflect the contents of the proposing release.] At an open meeting last week, the SEC voted, three to two, to adopt new amendments to the rules regarding proxy...more
The 2022 Amendments have removed the requirements that call for proxy advisory firms claiming an exemption from proxy filing rules for solicitations to provide their proxy voting advice to subject companies and provide their...more
On July 13, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), by a 3-2 vote, adopted amendments to the rules governing proxy voting advice businesses (proxy advisors), rescinding two components of the proxy rules...more
Over a decade ago, I posited the following question: "Should a proxy card specify a choice of law?" In a recently issued ruling, Vice Chancellor J. Travis Laster noted in the following lengthy footnote that choice of law...more
[This post revises and updates my earlier post primarily to reflect the contents of the proposing release.] - At an open meeting on November 17, the SEC voted, three to two, to propose amendments to the proxy rules that...more
At an open meeting yesterday, the SEC took up two rulemakings aimed at shareholder voting. First, the SEC voted four to one (a bipartisan if not unanimous vote) to adopt amendments to the proxy rules—initially proposed in...more
The SEC, in an unusual move, is reconsidering certain significant proxy rules that it adopted just last year. An SEC announcement of Chair Gary Gensler’s rulemaking agenda states that the Division of Corporation Finance “is...more
In This Issue. The Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC), Gary Gensler, issued a statement on the application of the proxy rules to proxy voting advice directed to the SEC staff to consider whether...more
ERISA plan fiduciaries may be breathing a small sigh of relief this week after the U.S. Department of Labor (the “DOL”) issued a statement on March 10, 2021, that it would not pursue enforcement actions for violations of two...more
On 4 September 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a new proposed rule on “Fiduciary Duties Regarding Proxy Voting and Shareholder Rights” (the Proposal)....more
Regardless of your view of the efficacy of ESG disclosure for publicly-traded companies, investors increasingly are insisting on it, and the advisors that can profit from it the most – proxy advisory firms, large accounting...more
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) recently adopted amendments to the proxy rules to address proxy voting advice provided by proxy advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and...more
In This Issue. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized amendments to its proxy solicitation rules that will modify the practices of proxy advisory firms, providing them with greater transparency and...more
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved in a 3-1 vote the long-debated proxy advisory firm reforms proposed on Nov. 5, 2019. ...more
On July 22, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments to its proxy rules addressing proxy voting advice provided by proxy advisory firms, such as ISS and Glass Lewis. The amendments were originally...more
Our Securities Group analyzes two sets of final rules from the Securities and Exchange Commission that increase the accuracy and transparency of information investors receive from proxy advisory firms and clarify how an...more