Labrador's benchmark study of Fortune 250 proxy statements reveals these and other noteworthy trends from the 2018 proxy season:
- Board Refreshment: 49% of proxies included a graphic highlighting board tenure compared to 37% last season. 13% used graphics to illustrate the nomination process and 16% used graphics to illustrate the evaluation process, compared to 9% and 6%, respectively, last year.
- Board Diversity: 29% of companies included an individual director skills matrix; 26% included an aggregated skills matrix (i.e., the number of total directors with particular skills).
- Graphics: 50% of proxies included graphics to highlight company performance, and 28% used graphics to compare TSR vs. peer group TSR. A number of proxies also used graphics to highlight pay mix and pay vs. performance. And 16% included shareholder engagement graphics.
- Board/Director Letters: 69% included a CEO or Chair letter in the proxy statement - nearly doubled over the past two proxy seasons; 43% of those CEO/Chair letters included substantive information (as opposed to an "invitation" to attend the meeting). Other proxies included letters from the lead independent director (11%), Compensation Committee (5%), full Board (4%).
- ESG: 37% of proxies included an ESG section; 6% used graphics to highlight key ESG metrics.
- Cybersecurity: 63% mentioned cybersecurity as a specific risk-management concern.
- Risk: 17% included a graphic to show the relationship between management and the board while overseeing risks.