European Commission pushes ahead with SRD II The European Commission will proceed with the implementation of the second Shareholder Rights Directive (SRD II), defying protests from some post-trade groups. As a result, the second phase of SRD II will come into force on 3 September 2020, as originally scheduled. The first phase of implementation saw […]
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SEC committee to policymakers: Revise ESG rules or be left behind The US risks falling further behind the UK and Europe unless rules governing reporting requirements for issuers around environmental, social and governance factors are updated. That was the conclusion from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s investor advisory committee, which issued a recommendation that issuer […]
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BlackRock ups the pressure on Exxon Mobil BlackRock has shown it can get serious with portfolio companies, this week cranking up the pressure on Exxon Mobil by voting against the re-election of several of the company’s leadership team. Citing insufficient progress on sustainable reporting, an inadequate mix of skillsets and an inability to assess material […]
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Sec lending management key to better ESG Managing securities lending policies in line with ESG goals, rather than halting them completely, should result in better outcomes for shareholders, research suggests. In recent months, asset owners had been quizzing fund firms over whether the practice of securities lending erodes long-term sustainability efforts. This followed a decision […]
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The chair of the European Confederation of Directors Associations (ECODA) has urged boards to embrace ESG in the fightback against coronavirus and the economic chaos which will likely follow the pandemic. In an open letter, chair Jan Wesseldijk explained it is the responsibility of companies to contribute to the survival of the economy, noting that […]
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Japan has revised its Stewardship Code after acknowledging that investors could benefit from a broader set of corporate governance guidelines. Throughout 2019, a council of experts reviewed the code, before publishing a revised draft for review at the end of December. Since then, the expert panel revised the code in light of submissions received during […]
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The Institute of Internal Auditors said the findings from its annual survey of 630 internal audit executives painted a “troubling picture”. Many internal audit functions are failing to allocate a portion of their audit plans to certain key risks, in particular sustainability. Of the executives who responded to the 2020 North American Pulse of Internal […]
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In February, the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) announced what it has called a “major review” of how companies and auditors assess and report on the impact of climate change, with the findings due to be published in the Autumn, ahead of COP26. But investors are set to play a key role in this review, according […]
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The UK Government has now implemented social distancing measures across the UK as the coronavirus outbreak continues to gather pace. Mass gatherings are being postponed or cancelled in response, but UK companies with scheduled annual general meetings (AGM) are having to consider whether they do the same or find another way to hold AGMs. The […]
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Japan’s GPIF scales up stewardship expectations Japan’s biggest public pension fund has revised its stewardship and proxy voting principles amid a surge in shareholder activism in the country. The Government Pension Investment Fund, one the world’s largest pools of retirement savings with assets totalling ¥168.9 trillion (£1.28 trillion) as of the end of 2019, has […]
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