ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services

The Role of Governance for Asset Servicers “Custodians and asset servicers will need to embrace innovation and adopt technology solutions to meet the evolving needs of clients and regulators,” said Rudi Kuntz, Head of Global Proxy Distribution at ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services. “This may involve leveraging technologies, such as artificial intelligence or machine learning, to enhance #ESG data analysis, reporting, and compliance processes.” ISS delivers flexible solutions that allow custodians and prime brokers to differentiate their offerings, reduce risk, and save costs. Learn more about ISS can help at: https://lnkd.in/erBymAVf #CorporateGovernance #ProxyVoting #ISSSTOXX

ISS’ Governance is committed to ongoing security improvements of our global network infrastructure to continuously improve security, performance, and scalability for our clients. Controls in place include: ?? Publicly available ISS Due Diligence Compliance Package and business practice materials ?? Security & business continuity programs benchmarked to ISO standards ?? Business continuity & disaster recovery covering IT, data centers, personnel & operations ?? Crisis Management of internal and external communications ?? Vulnerability Management Contact us to learn how we can help keep your data secure at: https://lnkd.in/e9AYa_e6 #CyberSecurity #CorporateGovernance #DataSecurity ?

Female Directors in Latin America: More Likely to be Independent, Younger, and Lower Tenured According to new analysis by ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services, while the overall number of female directors remains low in the countries studied (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru), ISS data shows that female board members in Latin America are, on average, younger, have lower tenures, and are more likely to be classified as independent than their male counterparts. This general profile of female directors is consistent across all six aforementioned Latin American markets.????? Based on data available as of July 2024, there were 4,082 directorships among the 486 Latin American companies analyzed. Of these, 655 directorships, or approximately 16 percent, are held by women. Read more key findings from the analysis, authored by Ana Luiza Farias and John Reidy, at: https://lnkd.in/eyDzJghu Learn more about our governance research and voting services at: https://lnkd.in/dE2Y6pVQ #LatinAmerica #CorporateGovernance #Diversity?

ISS offers a wide variety of voting policies to support shareholder views on corporate governance and prepare investors to serve the interests of their clients while meeting their compliance responsibilities. FLEXIBLE POLICY OPTIONS to Fulfill Your Unique Stewardship Philosophy ISS’ Benchmark Policy ?? Socially Responsible Investment Policy ?? Sustainability Policy ?? Climate Policy ?? Global Board-Aligned Policy ?? Public Fund Policy ?? Faith-Based Policy ?? Taft-Hartley Policy ?? Client Custom Policies Find out about all our policy options at: https://lnkd.in/e9AYa_e6 #CorporateGovernance #Investors #Compliance?

The Role of Governance for Asset Servicers According to ISS’ Rudi Kuntz in a recent Asset Servicing Times article, “As regulatory scrutiny on #ESG issues intensifies, custodians and asset servicers may need to assist their clients in complying with new and evolving regulations. This may involve implementing robust systems and controls to monitor and report on ESG-related activities, such as proxy voting, engagement, and disclosure requirements. They will also need to stay up-to-date on regulatory developments and adapt their practices accordingly.” ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services has provided proxy voting outsourcing and data products tailored to custodians, prime brokers, central securities depositaries, and other intermediaries for over two decades. Learn more about ISS can help at: https://lnkd.in/erBymAVf #CorporateGovernance #ProxyVoting #ISSSTOXX

ISS is a founding signatory to the Best Practice Principles (BPP) Group (BPPG), a global group of service providers formed to address the recommendation of the European Securities and Markets Authority to promote transparency and understanding of shareholder voting research providers. The 2024 Annual Open Stakeholder Forum of the BPP Oversight Committee featured several keynote speakers and two panels, one including BPP signatories and the other including a regulator, asset owners, asset managers, and corporate issuers, who discussed their experience in working with proxy advisors, their views on the overall success of the BPPG framework, and common misconceptions about the use of proxy research and voting services. “We are proud to have participated in this year’s BPP Oversight Committee Forum and prior forums, which help to promote a factual understanding of the industry and foster a constructive dialogue about the role of proxy advisory firms in the proxy voting ecosystem,” said Lorraine Kelly, Global Head of Investment Stewardship Solutions at ISS. Notably, Konstantinos Sergakis, Chair of the BPP Oversight Committee (BPP OC), affirmed that all five signatories continue to be BPP-compliant and stating that their disclosure keeps on improving and that “monitored self-regulation may be not just a viable alternative to hard law interventionist measures but may actually be the optimal way forward.” Read more at: https://lnkd.in/e-_QmdYs Read our most recent BPPG Compliance Statement at: https://lnkd.in/emeqcJ3A #CorporateGovernance #Investors?

Gender Diversity in Latin American Boardrooms According to new analysis by ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services, female directors are still rare in leadership roles, with only 24 women serving as chair among the 486 Latin American companies analyzed. Despite some progress across the six primary Latin American markets covered by ISS (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru) board gender diversity remains low. According to ISS data for 2024, board gender diversity ranges from 12.6 percent in Mexico to 24.9 percent in Colombia, with the latter remaining the Latin American country (among those covered by ISS) with the highest proportion of female directors. Brazil, the largest market in the region, has average board gender diversity of 16.1 percent. Separately, a mix of regional hard and soft laws to boost board diversity include a 30 percent female quota for state-owned companies in Colombia and recent regulation adopted by Brazil’s stock exchange expanding the scope of diversity to include race, disability, and the LGBTQ community. Read more key findings from the analysis, authored by Ana Luiza Farias and John Reidy, at: https://lnkd.in/e6fn_S5i Learn more about our governance research and voting services at: https://lnkd.in/dE2Y6pVQ #LatinAmerica #CorporateGovernance #Diversity?

Can Transition Finance Unlock the Next Wave of Investment Opportunities in the US? As US investors navigate investments in high-emission sectors, transition finance is emerging as a potential source of alpha in the energy transition. Join us at Responsible Investor USA, where representatives from EDF, ISS | Institutional Shareholder Services, Office of the New York City Comptroller, NEW YORK STATE COMMON RETIREMENT FUND and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) will discuss whether US investors need dedicated transition finance regulation and how to balance financing the transition with achieving net zero targets. Download the full agenda here: https://okt.to/w0nCci #RIUSA #RIUSA24 #SustainableFinance #ESG #InvestorNetworking Andrew Howell Curtis D. Ravenel candice coppere Tara Mei S. Andrew Siwo

ISS Governance Launches Open Comment Period for Proposed 2025 Benchmark Voting Policy Changes ISS Governance today announced the launch of its open comment period on proposed changes to its ISS Benchmark voting policies for 2025. The open comment period elicits feedback from investors, companies, and other market participants globally on the proposed ISS Benchmark policy changes for 2025 and beyond, and will run through 5 p.m. ET on December 2, 2024. To ensure changes to the ISS Benchmark voting policies take into consideration a broad range of perspectives, ISS Governance gathers input each year from institutional investors, companies, and other market constituents through a variety of channels and mediums. Following the recent release of the results of our 2024 ISS Global Benchmark Policy Survey, we now make available for public comment a number of proposed changes to ISS Benchmark voting policies for 2025. Feedback is invited from all interested parties on 23 proposed policy changes (plus one further topic related to ongoing considerations regarding US executive compensation). Read more at: https://lnkd.in/exxC89Fs Access the full proposed policy changes document for comment at: https://lnkd.in/ev3TUgRu #Investors #CorporateGovernance #Policy

Global Coverage and Insight Investors’ needs can vary based on their investment philosophies, portfolios, and the types of clients they serve. Having a partner with global governance experience and local market knowledge is essential. ISS’ Global Reach and Local Support: ?? 50,000 proxy analyses produced annually supported by a worldwide network ?? More than 60 experts globally help facilitate your day-to-day workflow ?? Governance specialists based in local markets producing high-quality research on over 2,000 companies in 100+ markets Learn more about our extensive global coverage at: https://lnkd.in/e9AYa_e6 #CorporateGovernance #Investors #Investing?