The 2018 proxy season is in full swing, and Swiss issuers and investors are still navigating “VegüV” –the landmark 2013 legislation that put all executive pay to a binding shareholder vote, but left deciding how that vote should work in practice largely up to the companies themselves. With issuers taking a variety of approaches, and voting opposition growing in the teeth of increasing quantum, just what is the state of the Federal Ordinance against Excessive Compensation?
Our report examines how companies are choosing to structure their pay proposals– are the votes forwards- or backwards-looking? Do they cover different components of compensation separately, or in aggregate? We also review the vote results to see how investors are exercising their enhanced franchise, and take a deeper dive into several notable examples of investor opposition. In addition, we look at how the new regime is impacting the quantum and structure of executive pay, and check in on how non-executive director compensation has been affected.
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