It’s time to put proxy disclosure drafting and shareholder outreach efforts into overdrive: the Securities and Exchange Commission’s long-awaited rule proposals requiring shareholder votes on executive compensation and severance packages have arrived.
The proposals from the SEC, mandated by the Dodd-Frank Act and out for comment until Nov. 18, are fairly straightforward, experts say. Indeed, many companies already offer some sort of shareholder advisory vote on pay; the new proposals simply require them for all public companies. “There shouldn’t be a lot of teeth-gnashing” with respect to execution, says David Martin, co-head of the securities practice group at Covington & Burling.
