2011-2012 Policy Outreach

Market Outreach for 2011-2012 Policy Formulation Process

As part of its policy formulation process, ISS undertakes significant outreach to a broad range of corporate governance constituencies, including investors, issuers and industry organizations.

Throughout this process, we place a strong emphasis on proactive outreach, broad-based input, effective communication, thoughtful policy application and sound decision-making. No other proxy advisor goes to the lengths ISS does to advance the corporate governance dialogue and to achieve a higher level of understanding and collaboration between investors and the companies in which they invest.

High-level Timeline for 2011-2012 Policy Updates

July 5, 2011		2011-12 Policy survey issued to client institutions and to corporate issuers
August 12, 2011		Survey closes
July-September 2011		Policy roundtable discussions with industry constituencies
September 2011		Policy survey results released
October 2011		Draft policy updates released for open comment period
November 2011		Final policy updates released for clients
January 2012		Policy manual updated

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MSCI Appoints Gary Retelny as President of ISS

New York – September 15, 2011 – MSCI Inc. (NYSE: MSCI), a leading provider of investment decision support tools worldwide, announced today that Gary Retelny, a member of MSCI's Executive Committee, has been appointed President of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), the leading provider of corporate governance solutions to the global financial community and a subsidiary of MSCI Inc.

ISS Securities Class Action Services Webinar: Converium

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 - 10:00

22 February 2012, 10:00 AM EST

During the informative webinar lead by Luke Green, Head of Securities Class Action Services Research, the Converium decision was discussed along with the broader implications for global asset recovery.

As outlined in our case brief, the Converium decision in the Netherlands has been gaining global interest as it marks the first time that a European court has approved a class action settlement on an opt-out basis (U.S. style) regarding the securities of a company not based in the Netherlands, whose securities were traded on a foreign exchange, and where the class included few Dutch residents. The settlement, worth an estimated $58.4 million, presents a notable opportunity for asset recovery in its own right. Significantly, it may also demonstrate that investors have legal recourse in Europe even if they are left out in the cold by the changing legal landscape in the United States.

eSecLending and ISS Join Forces to Help Institutional Investors Optimize Securities Lending

BOSTON – January 25, 2012 – eSecLending, a leading global securities lending agent, announced today that it has launched a new service called ProxyValue™, designed to help institutional investors maximize income generated from the lending of securities while ensuring proxy voting fiduciary duties are met.

2011 Proxy Season Review: South Africa

Submitted by root on Thu, 2012-01-12 19:07

This report highlights trends identified during the second half of 2011 with many companies continuing to adapt to the new legislative environment introduced by the Companies Act 2008, which finally came into force in May and the King III code of best practice.

Evaluating Pay for Performance: ISS' Quantitative and Qualitative Approach

Submitted by root on Sun, 2011-12-18 01:21

Investor feedback on the issue of pay-for-performance has indicated a preference for putting the focus on long-term alignment, board decision-making, and pay relative both to market peers and to absolute shareholder returns. As a result, ISS is unveiling a new approach to evaluating pay-for-performance in 2012 for U.S. companies. It comprises an initial quantitative assessment and, as appropriate, an in-depth qualitative review to determine either the likely cause of a perceived long-term disconnect between pay and performance, or factors that mitigate the initial assessment.

Institutional Shareholder Services Names New Head of Securities Class Action Services

Rockville, MD – December 8, 2011 – Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a leading provider of corporate governance solutions to the global financial community, today named Yovanka Bylander as its new Head of Securities Class Action Services. ISS’ Securities Class Action Services business serves more than 300 institutional investment clients, leveraging its large collection of securities litigation case data and its robust claims filing operation to maximize investors’ class action recoveries.

ISS Webinars: Policy Updates for 2012

Tuesday, December 6, 2011 - 14:00

December 6, 2:30 PM GMT, 3:30 PM CET and December 7, 11:00 AM EST

As you prepare for the 2012 proxy season, please join ISS for replays of two informative webinars on the updates to ISS' benchmark proxy voting policies for Europe, the United States and Canada. ISS experts also provided a preview of the key issues institutional investors and issuers will face in the coming year.

Institutional Shareholder Services Releases 2012 Proxy Voting Policies

Rockville, MD - November 17, 2011 – Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), a leading provider of corporate governance solutions to the global financial community, today released 2012 updates to its U.S., Canadian, European, and international benchmark proxy voting guidelines.