The 2013 draft Principles consultation is now closed.

Responses received can be found HERE >>

28 October 2013

The charter signatories (see below) of the Best Practice Principles for Governance Research Providers announced today a public consultation with regard to their draft Principles in relation to activities associated with the provision of shareholder voting and analytical services. The drafted Principles, guidance and consultation document can be found HERE >>

The Group consists of six governance research providers, who participated in a series of meetings under the guidance and independent chairmanship of Prof. Dr. Dirk Andreas Zetzsche, LL.M. (Toronto), Propter Homines Chair for Banking and Securities Law, University of Liechtenstein (Principality of Liechtenstein), and Director of the Center for Business & Corporate Law, Faculty of Law, University of Dusseldorf (Germany).

The Group launched this Principles development initiative in response to the European Securities & Market’s Authority’s 19 February 2013 statement on the consultation regarding the role of the proxy advisory industry. While the consultation found “no clear evidence of market failure in relation to how proxy advisors interact with investors and issuers,” it determined that the industry would benefit from increased disclosure and transparency of how it operates. For ESMA’s full press release, see HERE >>.

“The Principles promote the integrity and efficiency of processes and controls related to the provision of governance research services,” said Prof. Zetzsche. “Moreover, the Principles also foster a robust conflict management and a greater understanding of the role of Governance Research Providers in the voting decisions made by institutional investors (asset owners, fund managers and asset managers)”. The high-level Principles cover three main areas:

  • Service Quality
  • Conflicts of Interest Management
  • Market Communications

The Principles are, in turn, supported by integrated Guidance that explains the background and relevance of the Principles.

List of Group members and charter signatories

Original publication date: 28 October 2013

This consultation is now closed. The deadline for submitting responses was 20 December 2013. Responses received can be found HERE >>

The independent report of the Chairman regarding the Principles process can be found HERE >>