Introduction

The GO Stewardship Service (GOSS) provides – through offices in the UK, US, and Japan and a representative presence in Singapore – independent voting, corporate engagement and other advisory services on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) matters for the world’s long-term public equity owners and fund managers.

The GOSS voting service currently covers approximately 2,000 companies in 25 countries comprising the developed markets of Europe, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Peru and Russia.

GO believes that engagement with companies is best done by experienced local professionals who are based in their home regions and are able to follow closely the market-specific factors that affect companies and how they are governed. Accordingly, the service covering European companies is carried out by our multi-national team based in London, in consultation with our regional representatives. The service covering North American and Japanese companies is carried out by our teams in the US and Japan. In addition, GO works closely with HIM Governance in Singapore to cover Southeast Asia.

We also provide corporate governance advice – covering such matters as board of director elections and accountability, corporate audit procedures, financial management oversight and executive compensation – in the context of shareholder litigation in the US.

The Service

Through GOSS, clients are advised how to vote their shares ‘intelligently’ based on a pragmatic review of proxy research, taking account of the unique circumstances, and the performance history and prospects, of companies. It also carries out on behalf of clients the underlying engagement with companies that is necessary to vote in an informed manner. This ‘structural’ engagement is undertaken on approximately 20% of the companies in a client’s portfolio.

In addition, the GO Stewardship Service undertakes more intensive and longer term engagements on a subset of a client’s portfolio. These ‘strategic’ engagements take more time and involve the more senior members of the GO team, in particular, those with investment and business backgrounds. In Europe, engagements focus on the strategic and value-orientated aspects of how a company is run. In the US, engagements focus on structural and policy issues. In Japan, engagements are carried out under the auspices of the Japan Engagement Consortium and focus on strategy, capital structure and corporate governance. These engagements are selected and prioritised based on the level of clients’ holdings in the company. Through this programme, GO also carries out ad hoc engagements as a result of company-specific events.

Other aspects of GOSS

As part of the GO Stewardship Service, we will also help clients develop their own corporate governance and voting policies that reflect the specific concerns of the client. In addition, we will tailor specific corporate engagement programmes to meet client requirements.

Our clients are interested not only in exercising their ownership rights but in shaping the framework in which long-term share owners and the companies in which they invest operate. Accordingly, the Stewardship Services team advises clients on policy and regulatory issues and works with them on responses to consultations.

GO is a firm believer in working with others who share common goals. We co-operate with a range of institutional investors and fund managers through our membership in various groups with the aim of improving share owner rights. GO is a signatory of the UN Principles of Responsible Investment. In addition, we cooperate with a number of organisations to promote share owners’ interests, including Eumedion (the Netherlands) and the Asian Corporate Governance Association. We are actively involved in groups such as the International Corporate Governance Network (ICGN), National Association of Pension Funds (UK), Social Investment Forum (UK), Association Française de Gouvernement d’Enterprise (France), Pacific Pension Institute (US) and Council of Institutional Investors (US).

GO and Milberg

Milberg LLP (www.milberg.com) and Governance for Owners USA Inc. (GO) (www.g4owners.com) are working cooperatively to advance the cause of good corporate governance. Milberg is one of the premier class action and complex litigation firms, representing a host of institutional and individual investors and consumers worldwide, while GO adds long-term shareholder value by providing a range of corporate governance and shareholder engagement services to its clients. Consistent with GO's strategic platform, Milberg has often sought corporate governance enhancements as part if its litigation efforts. GO provides Milberg with enhanced guidance - covering matters such as board of director elections and accountability, corporate audit procedures, financial management oversight and exeuctive compensation - in the context of shareholder litigation in the US. GO and Milberg also plan jointly to organise and sponsor educational conferences on corporate governance. Watch for future postings regarding these exciting upcoming events.