GuerdonNews® Volume 18 Number 7

August 2021

Dear reader,

 

Welcome to the August issue of GuerdonNews®

 

 In this newsletter we:  

• Summarise ACSI’s latest CEO pay survey

• Highlight key elements of CGI Glass Lewis’ 2021 proxy season preview

• Describe draft legislation to reform employee share schemes

• Review ISS research that connects ESG, EVA and TSR 

• Identify the extent that the proposed Financial Accountability Regime draft corresponds with APRA's pay regulation

• Note the elements identified by an independent review that could make proxy advisors' code of conduct work

 

We conclude with executive and director remuneration disclosure updates available on the GuerdonData® on-line database. And if you have any other executive remuneration or governance query, type it into your search engine with "Guerdon Associates" and you will find we will likely have provided an answer already. 

 

ACSI’s annual review of CEO pay

Pandemic pain for many CEOs

The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors released their latest survey of CEO remuneration based on FY20 disclosures. ACSI finds that the pandemic has not affected all CEOs in the same manner. We summarise the impact on fixed remuneration, realised versus reported pay, short term incentives and examine the differences between incumbents in the data.

Read more

2021 Proxy season preview

CGI Glass Lewis has certain expectations 

Shareholder expectations regarding executive incentives and issues surrounding sustainability are likely to dominate AGMs. CGI Glass Lewis also updates guidelines in two areas: conflicts of interest arising from related party transactions and board diversity.

Read more

Draft legislation on Employee Share Scheme taxation

Sensible changes that were a long time coming

To bring Australia into alignment with other OECD countries, the draft legislation by the Australian government proposes to change the taxing point of employee share schemes. The legislation proposes to make it easier for cash poor businesses to attract and retain employees

Read more

The extent that ESG. TSR and EVA are correlated

Quite bit, it seems

A study by ISS, the proxy adviser, found that companies that had higher Economic Value Added (EVA) performance, coupled with high ESG scores, delivered the highest returns. These companies consistently outperformed others with poorer performance on these two measures. The energy sector performed the best, with the financial sector faring worst.

Read more

The Financial Accountability Regime Bill 2021

Look FAR, plan ahead 

Draft legislation has been released that has implications for APRA regulated financial services entities. We outline these implications on executive remuneration. We discuss compliance thresholds, the definition of variable remuneration, deferral, malus, clawback and other key aspects.

Read more

Best practice for proxy advisers

There already exists a code of conduct not referenced by Treasury in seeking feedback

The Best Practice Principles Group (BPPG) provides three main principles for proxy advisers to disclose compliance statements. These involve service quality, avoidance or management of conflicts of interest, and communications policy. Together these help investors and others understand the work these proxy advisers provide. An independent oversight committee established by the BPPG found all six major proxy advisers to be in compliance.

Read more

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Latest GuerdonData® Updates

There are no updates to GuerdonData®  this month.   

Executive and director remuneration data from all ASX 300 companies on GuerdonData® is available to any subscriber. Visit our website for more information on GuerdonData®.

Assess how easily you can find out director and executive pay information by viewing our 6 minute demo HERE.

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The information, analysis and opinion in this e-mail and attachments are intended to be for informational purposes only. Analyses are based on information taken from public documents or private surveys, and we do not represent to its accuracy. Guerdon Associates assumes no liability for the use or interpretation of information contained herein. This publication is provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of marketability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement of third party rights.

Copyright © 2021 Guerdon Associates

ISSN 1834-8300