Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), the leading provider of corporate governance and proxy voting services, today released a year-long study that reveals the increasing focus on corporate governance among institutional investors worldwide. The 2006 ISS Global Investor Study, unmatched in scale and scope, reflects the views of more than 300 institutional investors across 18 countries that manage $10.5 trillion, nearly one-third of the world’s estimated $33.1 trillion in equity assets.
In virtually every market, investors said that aligning executive pay with performance is one of the top three priorities. One U.S. pension fund professional stated emphatically, “Executive compensation is out of control. The increase in pay over the last ten years is not in correlation with company performance. Compensation committee members must be held accountable.”
Investors also said they want to see better boards. In addition to formal attributes of independence and strong nominating and director election processes, investors stress board accountability and responsiveness to shareholders.
See full Press Release, in pdf format.
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