A new large-scale survey released just last week by the John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance at the University of Delaware offers important insights into the shareholder proposal process under SEC Rule 14a-8 from various different perspectives.  The survey comes at an important time, when shareholder rights and the proxy proposal process are being

On November 17, 2025, the Divisions of Corporation Finance and Investment Management (together, the “Divisions”) of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) published a statement (the “Statement”) regarding their respective reviews of requests to exclude shareholder proposals from annual proxy statements under Rule 14a-8 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended

On December 11, 2025, the President signed an Executive Order titled “Protecting American Investors from Foreign-Owned and Politically-Motivated Proxy Advisors” (the “EO”).  The EO focuses on the influence of proxy advisory firms, specifically Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”) and Glass, Lewis & Co. (“Glass Lewis”).  According to the EO, ISS and Glass Lewis control over 90%

In November 2025, ISS Governance (“ISS”) announced its global Benchmark Proxy Voting Guidelines for shareholder meetings with dates on or after February 1, 2026.  Consistent with prior years, the 2026 updates were derived from extensive outreach to institutional investors, companies and other affiliated organizations.  According to ISS, its proxy voting guidelines “are guided by the

Webinar | December 10, 2025
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EST
Register here.

The proxy and annual reporting season may seem a long way off. However, in light of the amount of work and planning that goes into the proxy statement, annual report, and annual meeting of shareholders, this is the ideal time to

The John L. Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance, in coalition with several major industry organizations, seeks to gather practical insights from companies, investors, and related professionals about the scope and effectiveness of the current federal shareholder proposal rule (Rule 14a-8) through a new survey.

Recent remarks from the Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

Although it may seem early, it is already time to start preparing for the 2026 annual report and proxy season.  While many disclosure requirements remain consistent from prior years, there has been a significant shift in the focus of, and discourse relating to, the priorities of the Securities and Exchange Commission.  Practitioners started to see

On November 17, 2025, the Staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Division of Corporation Finance published a new statement (the “Statement”) regarding the review of requests to exclude shareholder proposals by both the Division of Corporation Finance and the Division of Investment Management (together, the “Divisions”) during the 2026 proxy season (including

10-K and Disclosure TrendsProxy Statement and Annual Meeting Preparation
Webinar | November 10, 2025
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. EDT
Register here.

The proxy and annual reporting season may seem a long way off. However, in light of the amount of work and planning that goes into the proxy statement, annual report, and

Companies and investors use information related to environmental, social or governance (“ESG”) factors to provide a company-wide view of sustainability and other priorities.  This includes how the company discloses, reacts to and manages ESG-related risks and policies, such as, for example, risks related to carbon emissions, as well as policies addressing diversity, shareholder rights and