ISS Launches Service Providing "Golden Agendas" for Shareholder Meetings Worldwide

RiskMetrics Group, a leading provider of risk management and corporate governance services to the global financial community, today announced the launch of ISS' new "Golden Agenda" service that delivers timely, accurate and high-quality agendas for shareholder and bondholder meetings worldwide. Already used by clients such as CACEIS, a global asset servicing provider, the new service leverages ISS' deep experience and global presence to streamline the proxy voting process.

"Investors face real challenges with the consistent delivery of meeting agendas across multiple providers," said Brian Russo, head of RiskMetrics' Global Proxy Distribution (GPD) business. "Deep knowledge of local market practice and governance provisions is critical for producing an agenda that reflects the substance of each proposal, management recommendations and valid voting options for investors."

ISS' dedicated team of global procurement professionals and governance analysts have over 20 years of experience in the process of acquiring, analysing and processing meeting information for over 100 global markets. Based in nine locations worldwide, the team proactively monitors markets on a 24/7 basis for upcoming meetings, acquires agenda information as published by the Issuer, translates the agendas into English, and codes them into a standardised format that includes meeting details, industry-standard agenda codes and descriptions, as well as management recommendations and voting options.

Having a reliable source for meeting agendas helps make the entire proxy process more efficient for custodians and their clients. "The high quality and speed of ISS' meeting notifications allow us to better serve our institutional investor clients as they analyse and vote their proxies," said Sébastien Maussion, deputy head of custody operations at CACEIS in Paris.

"Financial market participants and intermediaries up and down the chain of the proxy voting process need an authoritative source of agenda information," said Stephen Harvey, head of RiskMetrics' Governance business. "Our vision is to take friction out of the proxy process by providing the highest quality agendas available in the marketplace, enabling investors to more effectively exercise their stewardship rights and responsibilities."

Flexible delivery of the Golden Agendas is available, both on RiskMetrics ProxyExchange proxy voting platform, as well as through FTP, SWIFT, or alternative means. Clients can also receive customised alerts and access original source documents through ProxyExchange, as well as information around incentive fees and corporate action events related to the proxy meeting. Coverage is available for both shareholder and bondholder meetings.

About RiskMetrics Group

RiskMetrics Group (NYSE: RISK) is a leading provider of risk management and corporate governance products and services to financial market participants. By bringing transparency, expertise and access to the financial markets, RiskMetrics Group helps investors better understand and manage the risks inherent in their financial portfolios. Our solutions address a broad spectrum of risk across our clients’ financial assets. Headquartered in New York with 20 global offices, RiskMetrics Group serves some of the most prestigious institutions and corporations worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.riskmetrics.com.