Glass Lewis gives companies the last word.

SAN FRANCISCO, CA (April 2, 2020) – Glass Lewis, the leading independent provider of global governance solutions, announced that unedited company feedback on its research will now be included with all its proxy research papers and delivered directly to the voting decision makers at every investor client.

Companies will have up to 7 days to submit their feedback to Glass Lewis, who will then republish its reports with the last word coming from the subject companies themselves. Investors will be notified immediately when the company’s feedback is available, which will be accessible from the front page of each report and allow investors to consider that information to make or change their voting decisions ahead of the meeting date.

After successful pilots in the United States and Australia last year, companies and investors identified 10 key areas that would dramatically enhance the value of company feedback via the Report Feedback Statement (RFS), while allowing Glass Lewis to ensure the timing and independence of its research.

Here are some of the changes that will go into effect immediately.

  • Global – Available for all annual and special meetings for companies and shareholder proponents, including transactions and contests.
  • Uncontested – Glass Lewis will not edit a company’s feedback or include its own competing statement, maintaining the independence of both parties’ views.
  • Integrated – Company feedback is included with every report for every investor client, enhancing transparency and allowing investors to conveniently and directly compare the opinions of company management to those of Glass Lewis.
  • Delivery – Every investor will be directly notified, emailed and have access to the company’s feedback on Glass Lewis’ voting and research platforms.
  • Voting – Every investor making a vote decision will receive the company’s feedback with the time and ability to still make or change their voting decision.
  • Timing – Companies will be granted up to 7 days to respond, without delaying Glass Lewis’ market leading timeliness of delivering independent research.
  • Accuracy – Glass Lewis will continue to correct any errors found in its research, including when a company is unable to pre-screen the data used by Glass Lewis.
  • Cost – Any company or shareholder proponent who purchases a Glass Lewis report will automatically have the right to submit an RFS at no extra cost.
  • Engagement – Companies and investors will be equally informed, saving them precious time and resources by no longer having to include specific discussions of Glass Lewis research in their private engagements.
  • Consistency – Prior research reports, without company feedback, will be removed so companies have the certainty that every investor has access to the same research report and recommendations.

For a full list of changes, please visit the Report Feedback Statement webpage.

“We’ve listened and the new RFS makes it easier than ever before for companies to have their say on our research and have the certainty that it is included with our research and delivered directly into the hands of voting decision makers at each and every investor,” said SVP and Head of Research and Engagement at Glass Lewis, Aaron Bertinetti. “This is a win-win. Companies get their say and investors get the most complete, consistent, timely and independent information for their voting decisions.”

Glass Lewis’ SVP and General Counsel, Nichol Garzon, added “For investors, the ability to continue to receive timely and accurate research, alongside company feedback, without introducing unnecessarily complex mechanisms that take away investors’ precious time and resources, or compromising their proxy advisor’s independence, adds substantial value to the research and voting services they receive from us.”

The RFS is also available to shareholder proposal proponents.

More Information

Any company or shareholder proponent that purchases a Glass Lewis report will now automatically have the right to submit an RFS at no extra cost. For more information on the RFS or to submit one, please contact engagegl@glasslewis.com.

Any investor or client wanting to learn more about how this adds substantial value to our services can contact clientservices@glasslewis.com.

For FAQs and terms and conditions for the new RFS please visit: https://www.glasslewis.com/report-feedback-statement/

About Glass Lewis

Glass Lewis is the leading independent provider of global governance solutions. We enable institutional investors and corporate issuers to make sustainable decisions based in research and data. We cover more than 25,000 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 more than $35 trillion in assets. Our core solutions include Proxy Paper and Viewpoint, an industry-leading proxy vote management platform. More information available at www.glasslewis.com.