What to look out for during 2020 proxy season

The US 2020 proxy season looks set to feature investor pressure on board diversity and political spending amid a variety of ESG topics – and uncertainty over how the SEC will play umpire on some proposals. Industry professionals in the US foresee no turning around from the direction companies and investors have been headed in recent years, with a growing number of shareholder proposals in 2020 on issues under the ESG umbrella. In terms of which proposals end up in votes at AGMs, there is an expectation that the trend toward negotiating the withdrawal of many environmental and other disclosure-based proposals will continue, but also concern about a new SEC approach to deciding which proposals can be excluded.

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