Clifford Chance

ISS and Glass Lewis Issue Proxy Voting Policy Updates for the 2022 Proxy Season

January 21, 2022

The two largest proxy advisory firms in the U.S., Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. and Glass, Lewis & Co., have released their updated proxy voting guidelines. ISS’ policy updates are effective for annual shareholder meetings held on or after February 1, 2022. Glass Lewis’ policy updates are effective for annual shareholder meetings held on or after January 1, 2022.

This client briefing discusses both ISS’ and Glass Lewis’ 2022 policy updates for U.S. companies, as well as points of convergence with major shareholders, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Vanguard, and State Street, who are increasingly focusing on environmental, social and governance issues. We note certain key changes and action items that companies should implement in response with a more detailed summary on the following pages. These policy changes should inform proxy drafting and shareholder engagement for the upcoming  annual meeting season. 

Download PDF