We believe that voting standards and advice issued by proxy advisory firms need to be grounded in fact and reflect reality.  With the release of these principles, we hope to initiate a dialogue among companies, investors, and proxy advisory firms to create a system that brings transparency and accountability to proxy advisory firms and fosters strong corporate governance.

At the core of the principles are that proxy advisory firms and advice:

  • Are free of conflicts of interest that could influence vote recommendations;
  • Ensure that reports are factually correct and establish a fair and reasonable process for correcting errors;
  • Produce vote recommendations and policy standards that are supported by data driven procedures and methodologies that tie recommendations to shareholder value;
  • Allow for a robust dialogue between proxy advisory firms and stakeholders when developing policy standards and vote recommendations;
  • Provide vote recommendations to reflect the individual condition, status and structure for each company and not employ one-size-fits all voting advice; and
  • Provide for communication with public companies to prevent factual errors and better understand the facts surrounding the financial condition and governance of a company.

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