Glass Lewis to End Single Benchmark and Shift to Client‑Customized Proxy Advice by 2027
The proxy adviser says new technology, including AI, will let investors receive research aligned to their own voting policies over a two‑year rollout.
Overview
- Beginning with the 2027 proxy season, Glass Lewis will stop issuing a firm‑wide “house view” and provide client‑specific voting recommendations.
- The firm plans a spectrum of perspectives still under development, with reports indicating it could offer up to four options that clients can use individually or together.
- Glass Lewis says a majority of clients already use customized guidelines, and the move is intended to enable all clients to vote under tailored policies.
- Institutional Shareholder Services has indicated it will maintain its benchmark recommendations even as it expands other offerings.
- Advisers expect more fragmented and less predictable voting outcomes, prompting issuers to engage earlier, map investor policy preferences, and sharpen disclosures, with regulatory pressure such as Texas’s stayed SB 2337 providing important context.