Hogan Lovells, in conjunction with Equilar, published the Corporate Governance Outlook 2020.
The report features commentary on public company reporting trends, governance issues, and communications with shareholders through proxy statements and other channels. It also provides a preview into 2020 with an analysis of trends around the most pressing governance topics, including shareholder proposals, board composition, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.
Key highlights of the report include:
- The total number of shareholder proposals at Equilar 500 companies fell by 18.6% over the five-year period. Compensation-related proposals saw the greatest change, decreasing in prevalence by 57.1% since 2015.
- 86.0% of Equilar 100 proxies mentioned or disclosed their shareholder engagement policies in 2019, an increase from 69.4% in 2015.
- 513 Equilar 500 directors are nearing retirement age, as of 2019. Meanwhile, 93.0% of all mandatory retirement ages were between 72 and 75.
- Since 2015, the number of Equilar 100 companies that disclosed their policies on ESG matters has increased significantly each year, reaching 31.0% in 2019.
Hogan Lovells lawyers Alex Bahn, John Beckman, Alan Dye, Amy Bowerman Freed, Tiffany Posil, Martha Steinman, and Lillian Tsu contributed to the report.
Corporate Governance Outlook 2020 can be downloaded here.
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