The Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, commonly referred to as the TCFD, issued its second status report on June 5, 2019. This report, which follows its first status report in September 2018, states that the TCFD sees signs of progress in companies’ implementation of its recommendations on climate-related disclosures. Michael Bloomberg, TCFD Chair, commented that the TCFD is encouraged by the continued growth in the number of companies whose disclosures are…

Results of a study published in April 2019 by the executive compensation consulting firm Pearl Meyer suggest that Russell 3000 companies which have not yet received an “Against” Say-on-Pay (SOP) recommendation will likely receive one down the road. The firm states that “it’s reasonable to expect that at some point in the future, more than 80% of companies will have fallen victim to a negative vote recommendation at least once.” Relevance. Management’s SOP proposals give…

The SEC has announced that the staff will host a roundtable this summer on important topics such as the short-term / long-term management of public companies and related periodic reporting and regulatory requirements. The SEC’s four-year strategic plan highlights its focus on the long-term interests of Main Street investors. In its roundtable announcement, the SEC stresses the dual needs of Main Street investors – liquidity to pay for retirement and other expenses while at the…

Earlier in the week, a subcommittee of the House Financial Services Committee held a hearing on four draft bills that, if enacted, would impact corporate reporting, and more. Proponents of these bills contend that the disclosure will “provide more information to help investors make decisions based on long-term economic growth.” What Were the Topics? 1. Mandatory HCM Reporting. Representative Cynthia Axne (D. Iowa) introduced a draft bill to amend the Securities Exchange Act of 1934…

Introduction. Earlier this week, we learned that State Street Global Advisors, or SSGA, has created and is currently applying its new Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) platform, known as “R-Factor,” to better inform its investment, engagement, voting, and other decisions regarding any given company. SSGA says that it built R-Factor, its own scoring system, because it believes that the current ESG reporting and scoring landscape lacks standardization and transparency. Moreover, SSGA found that differing methodologies…

On May 1, 2019, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) jointly released a how-to implementation guide for implementing the disclosure recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure (TCFD).  TCFD released its final recommendations in June 2017, and as of this post’s writing, 643 organizations have publicly expressed support.  Despite this level of support, companies have lacked, according to the CEO of The SASB…

On April 12, 2019, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a World Bank Group, officially launched their Operating Principles for Impact Management (the Principles).  As of the official launch date, 60 global investors have committed to the Principles.  The first adopters range from large asset managers, private funds to non-profit investment firms.  The focus of the Principles is on impact investing, a term that IFC defines as “investments made into companies or organizations with the intent…