Ethos and eight Swiss pension funds file different
shareholder resolutions at the general meetings of
several Swiss companies in 2010. As a long-term
investor Ethos aims at strengthening shareholders'
rights and improve corporate governance of listed
companies.
In the autumn of 2008, Ethos and eight Swiss pension funds filed a “Say on Pay” resolution
requesting an advisory vote on the remuneration reports of five of the largest listed
companies in Switzerland. The initiative bore fruit, because four of the companies
(ABB, Credit Suisse Group, Nestlé and UBS) agreed to submit their respective
remuneration reports/system to an advisory vote at their 2009 annual general
meetings, enabling Ethos to withdraw the resolution. Only Novartis refused to
discuss the matter and recommended to oppose the resolution. The resolution
received nevertheless support from 31 per cent of votes cast.
Following this success, Ethos and the eight pension funds have decided to repeat
last year’s initiative. The same “Say on Pay” resolution has been filed with three
companies, Holcim, Swiss Re and Zurich Financial Services, and filed a second
time with Novartis, with a view to the 2010 shareholder meetings.
Shareholder Resolution "Stop Chairman-CEO"
Separation of the roles of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) is one of basic principles of good governance. In recent years, the
practice of having one person fill both roles has fallen sharply in most
countries.
In Switzerland, several big companies like Nestlé and Roche recently
separated the two functions. Of the twenty companies listed on the
Swiss Market Index, only Novartis still combines them, without any
justification for maintaining this practice for over ten years. At
the 2010 general meeting of Novartis, Ethos and eight pension
funds will submit a “Stop Chairman-CEO” resolution aimed at
preventing the continuation of this situation.
Co-Filers of the Ethos' Shareholder Resolutions 2010
The eleven signatories of Ethos' shareholder resolutions 2010
manage assets of 47 billion Swiss francs (approx. EUR 30 billion).
Main Shareholder
Ethos - Fondation suisse pour un développement durable
Co-Filers
Aargauische Pensionskasse, Aarau
Caisse d’assurance du personnel de la Ville
de Genève et des Services industriels de Genève (CAP),
Genève
Caisse de pensions de la République et
Canton du Jura, Porrentruy
Caisse de prévoyance du personnel des
établissements publics médicaux du canton de Genève (CEH), Genève
Caisse de prévoyance du personnel enseignant
de l’instruction publique et des
fonctionnaires de l’administration du canton
de Genève (CIA), Genève
Luzerner Pensionskasse, Luzern
Pensionskasse Post, Bern
Pensionskasse Stadt Zürich, Zürich
Pictet Funds SA (Ethos), Genève
Pictet Funds SA (Pictet CH Swiss Sustainable
Equities), Genève
Group of Support for Ethos' Shareholder Resolutions 2010
In order to obtain maximum endorsement, Ethos
established a Group of Support for its
resolutions and invites institutional
shareholders (Swiss and non Swiss) to join this
initiative. The members of the Group of Support are
not required to block their shares but should
accept to make public their support of the Say
on Pay resolutions.
In order to join the
Group of Support, please use the form. If you have any
questions, feel free to
contact us.
The group of support for Ethos' shareholder resolutions 2010
includes the following members which
manage assets of 630 billion Swiss
francs (approx.
EUR 420 billion).
