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US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to “increase oversight” of powerful proxy advisers that guide shareholder votes made by pension funds and some other money managers.
Trump directed the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Labor to step up regulation of two dominant advisory groups.
The order said Glass Lewis and Institutional Shareholder Services “regularly use their substantial power to advance and prioritize radical politically-motivated agendas”, citing their past support for environmental and diversity initiatives.
ISS’ and Glass Lewis’s recommendations, which wield huge influence in companies’ shareholder votes, have angered powerful chief executives such as Jamie Dimon and Elon Musk.
The order directs the SEC to examine if ISS and Glass Lewis have violated anti-fraud statutes in their recommendations or should be regulated as investment advisers.
The FTC, the federal competition watchdog, is directed to review “ongoing State antitrust investigations” to determine if the proxy companies may have violated federal competition laws.
The labour department, meanwhile, is set to determine if pension plans that it regulates can use proxy advisers, given the pensions’ fiduciary duty obligations.
The White House said proxy groups’ support for diversity and environmental proposals was unrelated to maximising investment returns, which “should be the only priority”.
ISS said it would review the order. “ISS does not dictate or set corporate governance standards and remains firmly committed to operating professionally, ethically, independently and in the best interests of our clients, as we have done historically,” it said.
Glass Lewis did not immediately respond.
The two groups have challenged a new Texas state law that imposed onerous disclosure requirements on proxy advisers’ recommendations. They argue Texas has violated their free speech rights.
Glass Lewis, recognising the broader political pressure it was facing, in October said it would move away from “house” recommendations, the default preferences on governance matters that it published each year.