2016 Say on Pay Report 61 Companies Have Failed Say on Pay

The failure rates for the Russell 3000 (3.5%) and S&P 500 (4.4%) have remained high throughout the year, and are above the failure rates at this time last year.

Vote results between the two indices have diverged due to a fractured governance landscape and differentiated expectations for “good” governance at large- and small-cap companies.

This proxy season will revert toward the pre-pandemic focus on financial metrics and conventional pay-for-performance structures.

The historically high S&P 500 failure rate is likely to remain through year-end, while the Russell 3000 failure rate has stayed steady since June.

Many have long maintained that in the long run, investing in stakeholders is good for shareholders— and that stakeholders and shareholders are not an either/or proposition, but rather a both/and proposition where addressing stakeholders leads to better long-term shareholder returns.

Emerging themes from this year’s Say on Pay and proxy voting season suggests a fundamental shift in shareholder and proxy advisor perspectives on compensation.

How to understand the immediate key steps that can help turnaround a Say on Pay outcome.

In setting or adjusting executive compensation for 2020, boards employed a variety of reactions and solutions. All of these were well intended, and some look to hold up well over time. Other compensation arrangements, by contrast, will look incongruous given what we know now.