Governance

Executive Summary/Highlights: A long-running, two-year effort by the senior corporate governance heads of major U.S. investors to develop the first stewardship code for the U.S. market culminated today in the launch of the Investor Stewardship Group (ISG) and ISG’s associated Framework for U.S. Stewardship and Governance. Investor co-founders and signatories include U.S. Asset Managers (BlackRock; … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: The new Dutch Corporate Governance Code, issued December 8, 2016, provides an interesting analog to The New Paradigm, A Roadmap for an Implicit Corporate Governance Partnership Between Corporations and Investors to Achieve Sustainable Long-Term Investment and Growth, issued September 2, 2016, by the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. The new … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights: The evolution of corporate governance over the last three decades has produced meaningful changes in the expectations of shareholders and the business policies adopted to meet those expectations. Decision-making power has shifted away from industrialists, entrepreneurs and builders of businesses, toward greater empowerment of institutional investors, hedge funds and other financial managers. As … Continued

Executive Summary/Highlights:  On September 28, 2016, the Canadian federal government introduced Bill C-25: An Act to amend the Canada Business Corporations Act et al. The proposed amendments are the culmination of the first substantive review of the Canada Business Corporations Act (the CBCA) in 15 years and are the result of a consultation process initiated … Continued

Executive Summary: U.S. public pension funds – longstanding proponents of corporate governance and shareholder proposal-style activism in the U.S. – are now allocating increasing amounts of capital throughout the world, and increasingly considering whether and how to globally apply their strategies and tactics for increasing shareholder power, changing governance norms, influencing boards and management teams … Continued

Executive Summary: We are pleased to share with you Davies Governance Insights 2014, the fourth edition of our annual analysis of important trends and developments in corporate governance for Canadian public companies during 2014. In Directors and Boards, we note that the gender profile of boards reveals a modest increase in female representation, as well … Continued

 Highlights:  New legislation, the Companies Bill 2012 due to become law in early 2015 will consolidate Irish company law into one comprehensive piece of legislation. The new company law regime will offer practical benefits and greater flexibility for Irish companies ranging from allowing companies to be incorporated more efficiently to radical reforms such as the … Continued

Executive Summary:  The presentation and article below focus on shareholder activism, particularly as conducted by situational hedge funds, and the appropriate standard for director response.  While the authors argue that the Australian legal environment is slanted in favour of activists, they also demonstrate various counterbalances that exist as a result of specific Australian authorities. Main … Continued

French Update – Activist Strategies and Defenses in France Executive Summary:  Many of the fundamentals driving increased shareholder activism in the United States and elsewhere are also relevant in France.  The disclosure regime under French securities law should permit companies to identify activist investors, their concert parties and their economic exposure, however, French law and … Continued

Executive Summary: This third annual edition of Governance Insights presents Davies’ analysis of the corporate governance practices of Canadian public companies over the course of 2013 and the trends and issues that influenced and shaped them. We expect 2014 to be an active year for governance themes with greater calls for diversity on boards, a … Continued