Shareholder activism is often associated with campaigns involving large, high-profile issuers. Yet as the Financial Times reports in a recent article, referencing global data from Activist Insight, there has been a slight upswing this year in activism against relatively small
The Special Situations Team
Majority voting and board diversity trends
As recently highlighted in the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, a report (the Report) by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) found that majority voting practices and annual board elections, along with increases in…
The State of Proxy Access Reforms
With the rise of shareholder activism led by what some refer to as “constructivists”, “reluctavists” or “suggestivists” (and, yet others, those who commit “extortion”), shareholders have become increasingly distrustful of leaving matters of corporate…
Better boards through better risk management practices
Prior to 2008, it was not uncommon for a bank to assign its risk oversight responsibilities to the audit committee of its board of directors, or in some cases, to even divide those tasks between a number of other committees.…
Top board priorities for 2016
With 2016 upon us, boards are likely to reflect on the organizational challenges they expect to face in the coming year, and to develop effective strategies to tackle these challenges. A recent EY publication anticipates that in developing these strategies,…
Glass Lewis’ 2016 Canada Policy Guidelines
Last week, Glass Lewis & Co. (Glass Lewis), a top governance analysis and proxy voting firm, released its 2016 proxy season guidelines for Canada and the United States, as well as its guidelines for evaluating shareholder initiatives…
Managing risk: A primary concern for effective boards
In today’s economic climate the role of a board of directors is as dynamic as it is demanding. Boards are now forced to take on expanded roles to better guide their organizations through uncertain economic times. In addition, directors are…
Management diversity: Do women in management lower a firm’s risk profile?
In an earlier post, we commented on the formal amendments to National Instrument 58-101 – Disclosure of Corporate Governance Practices and Form 58-101F1- Corporate Governance Disclosure imposing enhanced disclosure requirements with respect to female representation on the boards and…
The role of boards in M&A transactions
Beyond Governance – A Canadian perspective on pre-empting activism through shareholder value creation
In collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group and RBC Capital Markets, our Canadian Special Situations Team has released a paper offering a fresh perspective on defensive strategies addressing the spectre of shareholder activism. The paper argues that in developing a…