Glass Lewis Is Adapting to Customer Needs

These pages have often criticized proxy advisers, who provide research to institutional investors on voting decisions. But the market has changed dramatically in recent years: Investors and companies are adjusting to diverging national approaches to fiduciary duty. As the new CEO of Glass Lewis, I recently announced revisions to our business model to adapt to this reality. Your editorial “The Proxy Flight From ESG” (Nov. 18) suggests I was simply “reading politics in the room.” That isn’t quite right.

As ever, I am focused on our clients and on leading in the rapidly evolving global market for corporate governance. The advice institutional investors need is changing, often based on their firm-specific preferences and goals, and so our role is evolving too. We’re committed to ensuring our clients receive a model that respects their different priorities. Glass Lewis is thus updating its house-recommendation approach and pursuing additional initiatives to build trust in the market in at least three ways.