The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published its Follow-up Report on the development of the ‘Best Practice Principles for Providers of Shareholder Voting Research and Analysis (Principles) which looks at the industry’s progress in establishing and following a self-regulatory code of conduct.
Overall, ESMA finds that the industry is “moving in the right direction” although its assessment is only preliminary given that ESMA reviewed the 2015 proxy season only, the first following the adoption of the Principles by signatories.
ESMA’s key findings are that the Principles generally meet ESMA’s expectations, as a result, there is more transparency meaning that stakeholders can better understand how the industry operates.
A copy of the ESMA report can be downloaded Here >>