Sodali

Canta vittoria l’investitore – Il Mondo

sodali — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:00:08 +0000

Il Mondo, the economic weekly magazine of Il Corriere della Sera, published the 2012 Italian Proxy Update Cover Story. The article features interventions of Michelle Edkins, of the global institutional investor Blackrock, Domenico Siniscalco of Assogestioni, the Italian Mutual Fund Association, the headhunter Egon Zender and Sodali. It focuses the attention on the increase of foreign participation (Sodali), the importance of Engagement (Blackrock) and of Independent Directors (Egon Zender).

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Interim Proposal Concerning Revision of Companies Act

sodali — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:17:33 +0000

Sodali joined with J-Eurus IR Company, Ltd., Tokyo, in a letter to Japan’s Ministry of Justice commenting on proposed revisions to the Companies Act. The letter supports the requirement for companies to appoint an independent director, but expresses concern that proposed reforms fall far short of international corporate governance standards. We urge a redefinition of the board’s role at Japanese companies and adoption of core governance principles that are the basis for governance best practice standards around the world. We are concerned that the flight of global investment capital from Japanese companies will continue as long as corporate governance standards in Japan falls short of global best practice.

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Everything you ever wanted to know about the international proxy voting but were afraid to ask

sodali — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 09:10:42 +0000

During the summer of 2011 Sodali was retained by the Council of Institutional Investors (CII) to work on a two-part project relating to international proxy voting: (1) a survey of CII members about current cross-border voting practices, concerns and obstacles; and (2)preparation of a practical guide, or primer, to educate CII members about the mechanics of cross-border voting, how to use the process more efficiently andhow to overcome obstacles and improve results. The final report, published in November 2011,focuses on eight countries in three regions: France, Greece, Sweden and Switzerland in Europe; Japan and South Korea in Asia; Brazil and Mexico in Latin America. The report also recommends steps that the CII and its members can take to work together to improve the cross-border voting process.

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II Madrid International Conference on Investor Relations. IR: Riding the Wave, 19 January 2012

sodali — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:31:20 +0000

Giulio Pediconi is invited to speak on the topic of the convergence of corporate governance and investor relations, at this international event organized by AERI, the Spanish IR Association.

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Communication between companies and investors 13 December 2011

sodali — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:45:24 +0000

With the closing of the 2011 AGM season in Greece, and as a follow up to January 2011 event, Sodali, the Athens Exchange and the Union of Listed Companies hold a workshop to inform Greek issuers about the impact of the new cross border voting framework resulting from the changes to Greek Companies Law. This time, the workshop examines the effects the changes had on shareholder participation and will discuss the actions taken by the Athens Exchange and Sodali to offer additional services to further align Greek issuers with international practices.

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Ativismo direcionado ganha mais espaço nas companhias – Valor Investe

sodali — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:46 +0000

The article comments about how Brazilian shareholders are starting to become activists after discovering the importance and the scope of their role as agents of governance. The article highlights John Wilcox’s comments about increasing activism in the next AGM 2012 season which has become targeted “value activism” through which shareholders would like to discuss companies’ business strategy displacing the traditional governance type and how companies may predict activists’ vulnerabilities.

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OPAP Chairman interview – Capital.gr

sodali — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:00:59 +0000

A few days after the EGM of OPAP S.A, which essentially confirmed the implementation of the largest investment program in the history of the company, Chairman and CEO of OPAP, Ioannis Spanoudakis reveals the efforts the company went through to ensure all shareholders were informed: “We did not leave any decision to chance. The reason for this is because there are many cases in the past where shareholders resisted due to lack of information. What did we do? In addition to our own initiatives, we hired Sodali as proxy manager, who in turn contacted respective contacts and companies representing the majority of our institutional investors. This move proved highly effective in combination with the additional information provided by the Board and the Investor Relations department, particularly with the two largest shareholders – we made sure we pass the message went through.”

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Client Memorandum 2012

sodali — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 14:51:49 +0000

For the fourth year in a row, we are proud to send to you Sodali’s annual Client Memo, discussing trends in corporate governance and the outlook for the upcoming 2012 annual meeting season. We predict an increase in activism at targeted companies and suggest preparations to deal with both short and long-term governance challenges.

The Memo is the result of our active involvement and engagement with companies, institutional investors, regulators and other relevant market participants and has quickly become a reference in our industry.

Should you be interested in developing these thoughts further, please do not hesitate to contact us at info@sodali.com

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Rivista RI, Portuguese version (pdf)

The 2011 Client Memo published in the Wall Street Lawyer (pdf)

APIMEC, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 22 November 2011

sodali — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 16:00:46 +0000

Seminario Internacional – Ativismo & Governança Corporativa

During the event John Wilcox will discuss the evolution of Shareholder Activism, the different forms and types of shareholder activism and the impact of activism on companies. John Wilcox will also present a case study of activism that improved a U.S. or European company’s governance and performance and will provide a Take-away lesson for Brazilian companies.

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In Assemblea Qualcosa è Cambiato – Top Legal

sodali — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 05:45:35 +0000

The article comments the change in participation due to introduction of Record Date in Italy. Alvise Recchi explains that the change is purely technical, but due to the significatly higher participation ratios at shareholder meetings, now issues are much more accountable.

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