Glass Lewis announces the acquisition of French proxy advisory firm Proxinvest as it continues its geographic expansion and demonstrates increased commitment to its growing client base in the European market.
SAN FRANCISCO AND PARIS (December 1, 2022) – Glass Lewis is excited to announce the acquisition of French proxy advisory firm Proxinvest, effective December 1, 2022. Founded in 1995, Proxinvest is the only French voting advisory agency, offering coverage of French and European companies to investors. Glass Lewis has been focused on geographic expansion and the Proxinvest acquisition marks another step toward strengthening its presence in the European market. Acquiring Proxinvest will allow Glass Lewis to better serve both the European institutional and corporate markets.
There is an immediate benefit to existing Proxinvest clients as the sale facilitates access to additional Glass Lewis products and services such as Proxy Paper research reports, the Viewpoint voting platform, and the newly launched active ownership-focused SaaS Engagement Management Platform. The acquisition allows Glass Lewis to continue positive brand momentum in the European market, following the acquisition of Spanish proxy firm Alembeeks’ clients.
Alain Demarolle, Chairman of the Board and Charles Pinel, CEO of Proxinvest said, “We hold in high regard Glass Lewis, already our partner in certain areas. We know Glass Lewis will fully protect the independence of our distinctive research and the whole Proxinvest team is excited to now join forces.”
Proxinvest’s proxy voting policy is developed in alignment with the unique perspectives of their French clients. Glass Lewis is committed to maintaining this policy and will continue to offer it in French to serve the needs of the region. Glass Lewis has completed several successful geographically focused acquisitions in the past, such as the German firm IVOX, with a demonstrated track record of meeting the needs of local clients.
“I am delighted to welcome Proxinvest to the growing Glass Lewis family,” said Kevin Cameron, Co-Founder of Glass Lewis. “Proxinvest is a leader in the proxy research space in France and their clients extend across Europe. They are highly respected for their proxy research which we will continue to offer in the French language to meet the needs of the market. I am particularly excited to offer our ever-expanding suite of solutions to Proxinvest’s clients, including our newest SaaS solution, the Engagement Management Platform, which will help investors better manage their ESG initiatives.”
Proxinvest will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Glass Lewis and clients can continue to expect the highest level of service without any disruption.
To view the press release in French, please click here.
About Glass Lewis:
Glass Lewis is the leading provider of independent global governance solutions. We enable institutional investors and publicly listed companies to make informed decisions based in research and data. We cover 30,000+ meetings each year, across approximately 100 global markets. Our customers include the majority of the world’s largest pension plans, mutual funds, and asset managers who collectively manage over $40 trillion in assets. Our core solutions include Proxy Paper proxy research and Viewpoint proxy vote management platform. More information is available at www.glasslewis.com.
About Proxinvest:
Founded in 1995, Proxinvest is the only French voting advisory agency or “proxy advisor” specialized in matters related to general meetings, corporate governance and shareholder engagement. Proxinvest advises on shareholder engagement policy and assists investors in exercising their voting rights at general meetings of listed companies. Proxinvest also offers its clients alerts and analysis on corporate governance of companies. Proxinvest offers coverage of the main European Stoxx indexes (MSCI Europe, FTSE Eurofirst 300, Stoxx Europe 50) and every European company on demand. Proxinvest has been collecting data relating to the governance of listed companies for over 20 years. For more information, please visit www.proxinvest.com.