ISS: Corporate Governance Growing In Importance

Corporate governance is increasingly an important issue for institutional investors, says Institutional Shareholder Services. In a one-of-a-kind year-long study covering 300 institutional investors in 18 countries representing $10.5 trillion in assets, ISS found that aligning executive pay with performance, financial reporting and disclosure were the three top governance priorities for those polled.

Nine out of 10 respondents said corporate governance was important today, with 60% saying it will become even more crucial in the next few years.

“This level of investors focus and the progression of governance from a compliance obligation to a business imperative demonstrates that investors are increasingly recognizing their ownership responsibilities,” Randall Hancock, executive v.p, and general manager of global research at ISS, said in a statement.