A group of major and influential global institutional investors from North America, Europe and Australia , led by the UK’s Railpen Investments and F&C Asset Management, are seeking to build open and constructive dialogue with US boards of directors through a concrete, easy-to-implement solution – an idea we are calling a “Fifth Analyst Call.”

In a nutshell, companies would host an open call for their investors prior to the annual meeting – a fifth call added onto the calendar of quarterly analyst calls, with the focus on corporate governance. Prior to the annual meeting, investors consider important details related to the issuer, including whether or not to endorse a company’s compensation plan and the actions of the directors during the year. For their part, issuers produce a detailed proxy statement which represents the considered decisions of officers and directors. This is the natural time for a substantive, practical discussion about corporate governance issues, including compensation. The proxy statement offers a perfect opening for dialogue between shareholders and independent directors such as the lead director.

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