Shareholder engagement has become decidedly mainstream in recent years according to a new study by ISS entitled Defining Engagement: An Update on the Evolving Relationship Between Shareholders, Directors and Executives. The nearly fifty-page report, prepared for the Investor Responsibility Research Center Institute, provides a host of information about current practices and emerging trends among public companies. The study also looks at engagement from both the company’s and the investors’ perspectives.

Shareholder engagement is more effective outside of the spring proxy season, when companies and shareholders are swamped with deadlines and distractions. (See this Doug’s Note.) The best time is early fall, after everyone is back from summer vacations and before the holidays. That means that now is a good time to develop or update your shareholder engagement strategy, including, for example, issues to be prioritized, strategic goals, target shareholder identification, road show schedules, company participant decisions and updated contact information. The ISS study is an excellent way to benchmark your efforts against marketplace trends.

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