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New 'Say on Pay' Scorecard for the S&P 500

Leading Independent Governance Expert Launches New Service to Evaluate Executive Pay Plans

New 'Say on Pay' Scorecard for the S&P 500

Leading Independent Governance Expert Launches New Service to Evaluate Executive Pay Plans

Published 02-07-11

Submitted by GovernanceMetrics International (GMI)

(Marketwire) - A new Executive Pay Scorecard introduced today by GovernanceMetrics International, the independent global leader in corporate governance, provides an objective evaluation of executive pay plans to help shareholders prepare for mandated advisory votes on executive pay. The Scorecard is the first product launched by the newly-merged GovernanceMetrics, incorporating executive compensation expertise and data from its predecessor The Corporate Library, and offers shareholders a new tool for making critical "Say on Pay" voting decisions during the 2011 proxy season, now underway.

"The Dodd-Frank Act makes voting on pay practices a critical issue for institutional investors," said GovernanceMetrics CEO Jack Zwingli. "These company reports will directly assist investors in conducting due diligence, as well as support efforts to engage with corporations to have a constructive dialog on executive pay."

A new report released to coincide with the launch of the Executive Pay Scorecard, titled "Executive Pay Scorecard Report," identifies the key factors used to evaluate corporate pay practices. The primary metrics used to compare and score executive compensation include CEO pay equity, incentive plans that tie back to performance, and other factors that grade companies based on pay plan design and implementation. The report is available from the GovernanceMetrics International website.

The GovernanceMetrics Executive Pay Scorecard service provides objective evaluations of executive pay practices for all S&P 500 index companies, supporting investor efforts to review the most high profile companies. Scorecards are conveniently delivered to subscribers by email and FTP soon after each new proxy statement is filed, in advance of the annual meeting. Subscriptions are also available for covered companies who want to monitor investor sentiment with regard to their executive pay plans and those of their peer groups.

An explanation of the standards employed in creating the Executive Pay Scorecard methodology, developed by GovernanceMetrics Senior Research Associate Paul Hodgson, is available from the GovernanceMetrics International website.

About GovernanceMetrics International
GovernanceMetrics International is the leading independent provider of global corporate governance and ESG ratings and research. Corporate stakeholders - including leading investors, insurers, auditors, regulators and others - use GovernanceMetrics to identify and monitor risks related to non-financial measures covering key environmental, social and governance risk factors. GovernanceMetrics clients have found a valuable link between GovernanceMetrics ratings and research and major negative events that can lead to severe, unanticipated stock declines, such as regulatory actions, shareholder litigation, material financial restatements and financial distress. GovernanceMetrics also has deep expertise in applying forensic analysis to identify risks related to financial disclosures, a leading cause of shareholder litigation. More information about GovernanceMetrics is available at www.gmiratings.com.

GovernanceMetrics International (GMI) logo

GovernanceMetrics International (GMI)

GovernanceMetrics International (GMI)

GMI is an independent governance research and ratings agency, assessing the governance practices of 4,200 companies globally.

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