NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board and FactSet Research Systems Inc. (NYSE: FDS | NASDAQ: FDS) announced today a joint initiative to analyze and disseminate aggregate data from the annual general meetings (AGMs) of U.S. public companies.

The Conference Board, in collaboration with FactSet, will produce The Proxy Voting Report — an annual publication in which voting results and other information on proxy contests, proposal volume, proposal topics, and sponsorship types will be aggregated based on company size and 20 business industry groups. The annual publication will be supplemented by The Proxy Voting Fact Sheets, a bi-monthly review of the major highlights from recently held AGMs. 

A working paper titled Shareholder Proposals: Trends from Recent Proxy Seasons (2007-2011), available on the Social Science Research Network (SSRN) database (http://ssrn.com/abstract=1998378), exemplifies the sort of aggregate data that will form the basis of the periodic research. The paper was co-authored by Matteo Tonello, managing director of Corporate Leadership at The Conference Board and research associate Melissa Aguilar.

The exclusive research source for these publications will be FactSet's online proxy-voting database, which encompasses more than 43,000 corporate documents, including: charters, bylaws, and other organizational documents; daily updates on filed shareholder and management proposals; and detailed defense profiles for more than 5,600 U.S.-incorporated companies. Under the agreement with FactSet, The Conference Board is also licensed to offer to its member companies and other business corporations full access to FactSet SharkRepellent and FactSet SharkWatch. (For more information, please visit www.conference-board.org/proxyvoting.)

"In the last decade, The Conference Board has been recognized by regulators, government experts, and academics for its effort to objectively document evolving corporate governance practices," said Matteo Tonello. "We are proud to join forces with FactSet, a leading provider of data on AGMs and proxy voting, to consolidate a wealth of information in a resource that we believe will be of great value to corporate secretaries, general counsel, and corporate governance officers preparing for the meeting season."

John Laide, Vice President, FactSet Research Systems, added: "We are excited to work with The Conference Board to provide proxy voting research to corporations. Our comprehensive coverage of shareholder meetings, voting trends, and precedents, coupled with the insight and thoughtful analysis of The Conference Board, will benefit member companies immensely, especially in what is expected to be an eventful and challenging upcoming proxy season."

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status in the United States. For more information, please visit www.conference-board.org

About FactSet

FactSet Research Systems Inc. combines integrated financial information, analytical applications, and client service to enhance the workflow and productivity of the global investment community. The Company, headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, was formed in 1978 and now conducts operations along with its affiliates from more than twenty-four locations worldwide, including Boston, New York, Chicago, San Mateo, London, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Paris, Milan, Dubai, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Mumbai and Sydney. FactSet's corporate governance database, SharkRepellent, provides information on takeover defense and proxy related issues. FactSet's corporate activism database, SharkWatch, provides access to detailed activist investor profiles. For more information, visit www.factset.com and follow FactSet on Twitter: www.twitter.com/factset

Source:
Shareholder Proposals: Trends from Recent Proxy Seasons (2007-2011)
http://ssrn.com/abstract=1998378
Working paper
The Conference Board, Inc./FactSet Research Systems Inc., 2012.

Proxy Voting Data
www.conference-board.org/proxyvoting

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