Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic Governance Resources

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on people, companies, and markets around the world. Glass Lewis has been scenario planning in order to consider how the pandemic will impact governance and broader ESG issues in the present and future. We have compiled resources to help you navigate the 2020 proxy season during these challenging times. As the crisis continues, we will continue updating these resources and adding content to address new developments.  

Proxy Season Resources (updated weekly) 

• Regulatory Impact — market-by-market summary of changes 
• AGM Tracker — global list of shareholder meeting delays 

Glass Lewis Policy Updates & Thought Leadership 

Our contextual approach ensures that we can apply discretion and pragmatism to voting matters as appropriate. Given the dynamic nature of the ongoing crisis, we intend to rely on this feature of our guidelines as opposed to continuously updating them as circumstances develop. However, to promote certainty we have issued specific updates to the following policies: 

• In Depth Policy Updates
  • Virtual-Only Meetings  
  • Poison Pills
  • U.S. Executive Compensation — webinar in partnership with CGLytics 
• Comprehensive Approach, covering:
  • Compensation / remuneration 
  • Balance sheets and capital allocation 
  • Board composition and effectiveness 
  • Activism and M&A 
  • Oil and gas 
  • Shareholder proposals and ESG 
  • Use of context, discretion and pragmatism in recommendations 

Company Opinions Are Now Included With Research

We know that there are a lot of changes this proxy season due to the COVID-19 pandemic and that now, more than ever, companies want to be heard. Unfiltered company feedback is  included with our research reports and delivered directly to the voting decision makers at every investor client. Our aim is to enhance transparency and allow investors to easily compare the opinions of company management to those of Glass Lewis.

Request an RFS here to have your opinion heard.

Questions? 

We hope you find these resources helpful. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have additional questions. 

Clients:  clientservices@glasslewis.com
Companies:  engagegl@glasslewis.com
Investors:  info@glasslewis.com