Major investors demand change at Barclays A group of investors has filed a landmark shareholder resolution with banking giant Barclays over its financing of fossil fuel intensive companies. Eleven major institutional investors, including Brunel Pension Partnership and LGPS Central, together with more than 100 shareholders, have urged Barclays to phase out its financing of fossil […]
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Shortcomings in SEC proposals exposed Minerva Analytics has written a no-holds-barred letter to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) stressing several major issues with the regulator’s proposed proxy adviser rules. The letter, penned by Minerva CEO Sarah Wilson, makes clear that the rule amendments would have “significant, far-reaching and harmful impacts” on the US […]
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Companies face new reporting and governance targets Companies have been urged to improve their corporate reporting and governance practices in a new report from the Financial Reporting Council. The FRC published its Annual Review of the UK Corporate Governance Code on Thursday (9 January) with a list of recommendations for businesses. It said that a […]
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The chief of UN-backed Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has lashed out at the SEC and corporate lobby groups for trying to dampen investor rights. In an opinion piece for the FT this week, chief executive of the PRI Fiona Reynolds strongly criticised what she called “powerful countervailing forces” that were attempting to silence shareholders […]
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Norwegian oil and gas giant Equinor is facing a significant showdown with investor activists as its bid to drill for oil in a well-known Australian beauty spot intensifies. Under its proposals, Equinor wants to drill a 2.2km exploration well in the Great Australian Bight, a stretch of coastline regarded as one of the world’s most […]
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OECD applauds “game changer” forum on tax evasion A massive jump in the number of countries trading information has pumped an extra €100bn into global tax revenues over the last decade – although some nations are still failing to join the fight against tax evasion. According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), […]
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Stewardship moves beyond box ticking The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a new UK Stewardship Code which is due to come into effect on 1 January 2020. The revised Code has set a higher standard for how money is invested on behalf of UK savers and pensioners that the FRC said reflects “the changing […]
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The annual Manifest Total Remuneration Survey is now out. The average pay of the UK’s top CEOs has fallen by more than 10% to £5.1m, though concerns remain this figure is still too high. The latest Manifest Total Remuneration Survey, now published by Minerva, is regarded as the authoritative study on UK executive pay, showed […]
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Study shows low adoption of deferred share plans A quarter of the UK’s biggest companies are failing to adopt the right remuneration polices to reward executive performance, according to a new study by The Purposeful Company, a management think tank. The research, which looked at the benefits of adopting deferred share plans, found that at […]
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A new poll shows that nearly half of investment professionals are struggling to adhere to the industry’s principal Code of Ethics. CFA UK’s 2019 annual ethics survey – which comprised the views of nearly 500 investors – showed that while ethics remain a top priority, 43% of respondents find it challenging to adhere to the […]
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