NEW YORK, July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Increases in
shareholder activism, the number of proxy contests, "Vote No" and
"Vote Yes" campaigns to influence director elections and retail
share ownership are just a few of the findings from the mid-season
review of ProxyPulse™, a joint publication by Broadridge Financial
Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: BR) and PwC US' Center for Board
Governance.
In an analysis of 2,082 annual meetings held between
January 1, 2015 and May 15, 2015, Broadridge and PwC reported that
proxy access proposals attained high levels of support.
"Nearly two-thirds of the proxy access proposals received
majority shareholder support," said Chuck
Callan, senior vice president of regulatory affairs,
Broadridge Financial Solutions.
There were increases also in the number of proxy battles and in
shareholder-to-shareholder communications as evidenced by greater
numbers of "Vote No" and "Vote Yes" campaigns. There was also an
increase in proposals related to corporate political spending and
sustainability.
Say-on-pay support levels remained high and saw slight growth
compared to the previous period in 2014. Additionally, only three
percent of say-on-pay votes failed to receive majority shareholder
approval.
"Shareholders continued to support say on pay voting at high
levels" stated Paul DeNicola,
managing director in PwC's Center for Board Governance. "This could
be due to an increase in shareholder engagement with respect to
executive compensation and more ongoing communications between
directors and institutional investors."
Key 2015 mid-season developments include:
- Shareholder support is strong for the majority of
directors. Most directors received strong shareholder support,
particularly at large-cap companies where average shareholder
support for directors was 97 percent, compared to 92 percent at
microcap companies.
- Still, out of a total of 11,667 directors that stood for
election, 458 directors failed to receive at least 70 percent
shareholder support.
- Shareholder support for say-on-pay averaged 90 percent
during the mid-season, although 89 plans failed to surpass the 70
percent support threshold.
The report is based on Broadridge's processing of shares held in
street name, which accounts for more than 80 percent of all shares
outstanding of U.S. publicly-listed companies. In addition, it
provides perspectives from PwC's annual surveys of directors and
investors.
Visit ProxyPulse.com to access the full report.
ProxyPulse is a collaboration between Broadridge and PwC's
Center for Board Governance.
About Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
(BR) is the leading provider of investor communications and
technology-driven solutions for broker-dealers, banks, mutual funds
and corporate issuers globally. Broadridge's investor
communications, securities processing and business process
outsourcing solutions help clients reduce their capital investments
in operations infrastructure, allowing them to increase their focus
on core business activities. With over 50 years of experience,
Broadridge's infrastructure underpins proxy voting services for
over 90% of public companies and mutual funds in North America, and processes more than
$5 trillion in fixed income and
equity trades per day. Broadridge employs approximately 6,700
full-time associates in 14 countries.
For more information about Broadridge, please visit
www.broadridge.com.
About PwC US
PwC US helps organizations and
individuals create the value they're looking for. We're a member of
the PwC network of firms, which has firms in 157 countries with
more than 195,000 people. We're committed to delivering quality in
assurance, tax and advisory services. Find out more and tell us
what matters to you by visiting us at www.pwc.com/US.
PwC refers to the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the
PwC network. Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please
see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
© 2015 PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability
partnership. All rights reserved. PwC refers to
the US member firm, and may sometimes refer to the PwC network.
Each member firm is a separate legal entity. Please
see www.pwc.com/structure for further details.
About PwC's Center for Board Governance
PwC's Center
for Board Governance is a group within PwC whose mission is to help
directors effectively meet the challenges of their critical roles.
This is done by sharing governance leading practices, publishing
thought leadership and offering forums on current issues.
For more information, please
visit http://www.pwc.com/US/CenterForBoardGovernance.
Media Contacts:
Jenna J.
Focarino
+1-212-681-1700 ext.115
+1-845-893-7586 cell
jfocarino@torrenzano.com
Stephanie C.
Corzett
PwC US
+1-617-530-4977
Stephanie.c.corzett@us.pwc.com
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visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/2015-proxy-season-characterized-by-an-uptick-in-many-forms-of-shareholder-activism-according-to-new-report-from-broadridge-and-pwc-us-300109655.html
SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.