A group of United Kingdom-based institutional investors is looking to bolster their collective shareholder activism, increasing the amount of pressure put on poorly-performing corporate boards. According to Reuters, the Institutional Shareholders Committee (ISC) is banding together its members to drive significant change at companies.
The ISC, whose member-funds control over $2.4 trillion in assets, is looking to demand greater accountability from its ownership stakes, particularly banks and financial firms. To this end, the group released today a series of guidelines designed to strengthen shareholder activism.
“Shareholders have got to be more purposeful…they should demonstrate their intent by approaching boards collectively and if that fails, by voting against appropriate resolutions at general meetings or even by laying down motions of their own,” says Dnaiel Godfrey, director general at the Association of Investment Companies, a member-group of the ISC.
One ISC proposal is for company chairmen to face annual votes for re-election in the event that support drops below 75 percent.