On the 22 October, proxy adviser Glass Lewis (GL) published the results of the 2025 Global Policy Survey. This survey informs the annual policy guideline updates. The survey captures perspectives from investors, companies and other stakeholders across key governance areas.

Respondents were primarily based in the US (47% of investors and 38% of non-investors) followed by Europe. Oceania accounted for only 3% of investors and 4% of non-investors.

Below is a summary of the key remuneration findings. We presage each headline (in italics) with, perhaps, a tongue in cheek harbinger of what the survey seems to suggest that, frankly, we doubt would be supported in practice.

Executive Pay

• It is okay to shrink to greatness and retain pay – Downward Benchmarking: predictably non-investors were more likely to view pay reductions after a decrease in company size or scope from strategic transactions as ‘unrealistic’. Investors agreed that while pay and benchmarking should be reviewed, they did not expect short term adjustments and recognised benchmarking would naturally adjust over time through changes in peer group.
• It remains ok to ask for a trillion dollar pay increase and not just because your name is Musk – Assessing the Size of Long-Term Incentive Grants: having a threshold for a size of LTI grant which should lead to scrutiny was generally agreed to be not necessary, with a case-by-case assessment preferred.
• Investors apparently less likely to pay for sounder governance oversight – Approach to Significant Non-Executive Director (NED) Fee Increases: respondents generally did not consider significant NED fee increases a concern if they were in line with market peers. Where considered an issue, investors were twice as likely as non-investors to see as concerning.
• Investors apparently less likely to require adjustments for headwinds or tailwinds – Impact of Tariffs on Executive Pay: where incentive outcomes reflect company performance that has been materially impacted by trade tariffs, both investors and non-investors emphasised contextual assessment. Unsurprisingly, investors favoured taking no action and leaving outcomes aligned with shareholders, whereas non-investors favoured adjusting outcomes.

The GL surveys suggest there is growing alignment around case-by-case evaluation and contextual judgment. Glass Lewis is taking note of this development with plans announced to shift to a tailored voting framework. For more detail see HERE.

GA: We will be considering this global proxy firm response in one of GA’s 2026 Director Briefings, and what is may mean for remuneration policy, disclosure, engagement and proxy solicitation.

Link to the 2025 Global Policy Survey results can be found here (see HERE).

Link to Glass Lewis’ current policy can be found here (see HERE).

See our article on recent proxy advisor updates (see HERE).

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