Conservative Investors Tell Proxy Agents They Want Their Voices Heard in Corporate Votes

A coalition of more than 100 conservative asset managers has penned a letter to proxy advisors, International Shareholder Services (ISS), and Glass Lewis, which together represent an estimated 97 percent of the proxy voting industry, asking them to stop pushing a leftwing agenda in shareholder votes.  The letter charges that ISS and Glass Lewis “leverage their monopoly positions to support politicized shareholder proposals on topics like so-called diversity, equity, and inclusion, climate change, and abortion—all while opposing shareholder proposals that ask firms to stop pushing divisive political agendas.” Proxy advisory companies like Glass Lewis and ISS advise investors, or vote on their behalf, on any particular issue that is put to a shareholder vote. Glass Lewis and ISS hold a duopoly position in the proxy voting market....