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Environmental and Social Compensation Metrics: Walking the Talk?
In the final installment of this series, we examine E&S incentives. With all the talk of E&S issues, are compensation committees tying executives’ pay to improving the E&S profile of their organizations or just giving it lip service?
Read More > 04.25.2019
Briefs
Environmental And Social Shareholder Proposals Get Popular Worldwide
Environmental and social (E&S) shareholder proposals are important topics with all stakeholders including shareholders, employees, and the communities where companies do business. Corporations are increasingly required to justify policies and explain their approach to challenges that are beyond typical “business management.” For example, some of these challenges like climate change…
Read More > 04.16.2019
Briefs
Forbes – Proxy Advisor Legislation: Let’s Fix What’s Broken And Leave The Rest Alone
By Robin Ferracone It’s hard to believe we are getting into proxy season 2019. Where does the time go? Washington started the year with a “screeching” halt, and now, the beltway is breathing a sigh of relief that government will stay open. Meanwhile, investors continue to ramp up…
Read More > 03.07.2019
Briefs
Workspan – Raising The Bar of Your Incentive Plan with Automatic Goal Setting
By Marc Hodak When I was a newly-minted MBA, my boss came to me and said “The Big Guy”— his boss and the head of our division — had suggested I pull together our division budget for the next year. So, I eagerly applied what I had learned in…
Read More > 02.06.2019
Briefs
Five Investor Voting Trends on Environmental, Social and Governance Proposals
Introduction Environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues are on the top of executives’ and boards’ minds and continue to capture the attention of the world’s largest institutional investors. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, in his 2017 letter to CEOs stated, “Companies must ask themselves: What role do we play in…
Read More > 01.17.2019
Briefs
Forbes – Dare To Be Different – Strategic Compensation Plans
I’m often asked why so many executive compensation plans look the same. The answer is that in the post-Dodd-Frank era, proxy advisor policies and even investor guidelines have created a rules-based environment within which to design executive compensation programs. This pushes most companies to adhere to a common formula,…
Read More > 01.03.2019
Briefs
Forbes – Perspectives Of Gwen McDonald, Seasoned Human Resources Executive: A Look Back And Look Forward
By Robin Ferracone This post was originally published on Forbes.com As far back as I can remember, I’ve had the pleasure of working with Gwen McDonald. McDonald recently retired from the executive vice president of human resources role at Network Appliances, Inc. (“NetApp”), and prior to that…
Read More > 12.21.2018
Briefs
ESG Shareholder Proposal Findings That Will Surprise You
Thank you to Proxy Insight Ltd that provided data for this Farient Brief. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) proposals continue to make the rounds. Some of the world’s most influential investors, including State Street, Vanguard and BlackRock, are raising the bar on corporate responsibility. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s…
Read More > 12.05.2018
Briefs
The Seven “Deadly Sins” for Compensation Committee Agendas in 2019
Compensation Committee Agendas. In the spirit of the holiday season that precedes proxy season, we have developed our “Seven Deadly Sins for Compensation Committees in 2019” that are bound to place you on Santa’s naughty list should you make the mistake of not avoiding them. Our list, which includes specific…
Read More > 11.27.2018
Briefs
Director Pay: A Close Look at the Trends
Executive pay gets plenty of attention in the press and from shareholders. Whether it’s the top 10 pay disclosures of the year or the latest severance package of a big company CEO, the story is sure to garner headlines. As if CEO pay isn’t enough, director pay is now starting to…
Read More > 10.09.2018
Briefs
Farient Alert: SEC Rescinds Guidance Providing Regulatory Support for Using Proxy Advisors
On Thursday, the SEC rescinded two guidance letters from 2004 that will potentially reduce the influence that ISS has on, among other things, Say-on-Pay votes. These guidance letters informed investment managers that outsourcing their proxy voting decisions to proxy advisors would satisfy their obligations as fiduciaries to vote their shares…
Read More > 09.19.2018
Briefs
Board Diversity Legislation: What You Need to Know
Diversity on corporate boards continues to be a pressing topic. According to research from Catalyst, Women on Boards 2020 and a recent study from McKinsey, gender diverse boards are 21 percent more likely to experience above-average performance. This, in turn, continues to push investors to demand that companies diversify…
Read More > 09.18.2018
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