Nine of 13 companies giving their shareholders their first vote on executive compensation have agreed in principle on a draft resultion that will appear on proxy ballots in 2010, according to RiskMetric’s blog. The resolution is based on a draft model of “say on pay” policy crafted by the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance (CCGG), which represents 41 investors managing over $1 trillion in assets. The drafted model urged companies to standardize their say on pay policies and the board will decide the final wording of the proposal in the proxy circular. The nine companies are expected to recommend the CCGG’s draft.
The CCGG’s model policy states that say on pay resolution should be seen as part of overall efforts between companies and shareholders to have regular and active dialogue with one another. “A lot of drafting and consultation went into this policy,” CCGG director of research Paul Schneider told Risk & Governance Weekly.
The CCGG prefers a case-by-case approach when analyzing against votes, taking into account the base of each company.