ISS Announces Key 2014 Draft Policy Updates

On October 21, 2013, Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an influential proxy advisory firm, released three proposed updates to its Canadian proxy voting guidelines. The proposed updates relate to director overboarding, pay for performance quantitative screen and problematic audit-related issues. ISS is seeking feedback from market participants to finalize these updated guidelines, which will be published in November 2013 and will apply to shareholder meetings of publicly traded Canadian companies occurring on or after February 1, 2014.

ISS recommendations can have a significant impact on the outcome of business conducted at shareholder meetings, especially if institutional investors comprise a significant component of the shareholder base. Although the impact of the proposed updates is expected to be minimal in the 2014 proxy season, Canadian public companies should review the proposed updates with their legal counsel to determine the likely impact and take