D.F. King Releases 2024 Proxy Season Debriefing

NEW YORK, Aug. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- D.F. King & Co., Inc. ("D.F. King"), an industry leader with over 80 years of experience in strategic advisory and proxy solicitation services, is pleased to announce the release of The Debriefing – 2024 Proxy Season Review and Fall Engagement Guide. This annual proxy season review offers invaluable insights into the key trends of 2024 and equips companies with the necessary information to navigate the upcoming 2025 proxy season.

The Debriefing uncovered several key findings that provide valuable insights into the current trends of shareholder proposal topics, raising pertinent questions about the direction of environmental, social, and governance initiatives and their reception among stakeholders.

Takeaways from this year's Debriefing include:

• Shareholder Proposals – The 2024 proxy season saw an increase in shareholder proposal submissions, and more proposals are ending up on ballots. The Debriefing covers a range of trending proposal topics, including those that reference GHG emissions, 'Anti-ESG' topics, majority voting for the election of directors, artificial intelligence & risk oversight, workforce issues, political transparency and supermajority voting provisions.
• Say-on-Pay and Equity Plans – Support remains high for both Say-on-Pay and equity plan proposals, and the number of 'failures' for Say-on-Pay reduced by nearly 50%.
• 'Overboarding' and Board Diversity – These topics had noteworthy impacts on the election of directors in 2024. This year's Debriefing contains an overview of policies from top institutional investors.

"The Debriefing offers a deeper dive into the key topics that are affecting companies across multiple aspects of the proxy planning process, from the shareholder proposals that are transforming ballots to the various topics that are increasingly brought up during shareholder engagement," said Zally Ahmadi, Senior Vice President, Corporate Governance, ESG & Executive Compensation at D.F. King. "As we prepare for engagement season this fall and subsequently the 2025 proxy season in the spring, it is increasingly important for companies to understand the evolving shareholder landscape by keeping abreast of these developments as part of their planning process," said Ahmadi.

The 2024 Debriefing underscores D.F. King's commitment and qualifications to help companies understand these dynamics and to plan strategically for a successful proxy voting season.

Download The Debriefing

About D.F. King

At D.F. King, an EQ company, we leverage our unique depth and diversity of experience to deliver high-level advisory services, custom reporting, securityholder outreach programs and educational strategies to each client. D.F. King provides high-level advisory services in contested solicitations and proactive solutions for all corporate governance needs. Services include proxy solicitation; shareholder profile analysis; proxy advisory firm consulting; M&A, information agent services to equity and debt markets; corporate governance and executive compensation consulting; and call center services. Learn more at: dfking.com

About EQ

EQ are specialists in helping you better understand and manage the ownership of your company through critical events across the corporate lifecycle. As trusted advisors, we provide strategic insight and operations expertise through our core business units in Private Company Services, Transfer Agent Services, Employee Plan Solutions, Proxy Services, and Bankruptcy. Globally we serve 6,700 clients (49% of the FTSE 100 UK and 35% of the S&P 500), with over 35 million shareholders, through 6,500 employees in 5 markets around the world. Learn more at equiniti.com/us.

Sara Walsh
EQ
1 646-965-3687
[email protected]

SOURCE Equiniti Trust Company, LLC.