Companies Fight Back on Say-on-Pay

I've written several times recently about Say-on-Pay under the Dodd-Frank legislation. You can see the compilation and get background here: http://johnhlowell.blogspot.com/search/label/Say%20on%20Pay

For those that don't know, there are a few firms out there, most notably Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass-Lewis, that advise shareholders (primarily large institutional shareholders) on how to vote. The companies are now fighting back. Roughly 100 large companies through a lobbying adviser are asking that ISS, Glass-Lewis and others be investigated for conflicts of interest.

So, the battle heats up. Personally, I do think that ISS and Glass-Lewis have a bias, but they do perform an important service. Large institutional investors do not have the manpower or skill sets to be evaluating executive compensation programs. On the other hand, the services, while they have general expertise, are automatically biased against certain forms of compensation which may be appropriate in individual circumstances.

I'm not sure where this one is going, but as it moves along its path, I'll do my best to keep you informed.