Deal Point Data’s “2023 Proxy Season – An Early Look at the Numbers” reveals these and other early season results:
· A record-breaking 288 shareholder proposals have been included in definitive proxy statements filed between January 1 and March 31, compared to last year’s record of 252 proposals.
· No-action requests are down 26% for the period December 1 through March 31 as compared to the 2022 proxy season (same time period) (106 in 2023 vs. 200 in 2022); however, companies’ success rate is up from 41% in 2022 to nearly 52% this season.
Based on its review of 135 Russell 3000 proxy filings thus far this proxy season, Semler Brossy reported these and other noteworthy results:
· The percentages of Russell 3000 and S&P 500 companies that received an ISS “against” recommendation on say-on-pay as of April 6 are down significantly year-over-year. The average vote result for companies that received a negative ISS recommendation is 19% lower than for companies that received an ISS “For” recommendation, which is well below last year’s 37% and the historical range of 24%-32%.
· Median shareholder support for social proposals (8 proposals) and environmental proposals (2 proposals) voted on so far this season is 8% and 4%, respectively, reflecting a significant decline in support compared to last year’s 32% (16 proposals) and 70% (3 proposals), respectively.