The international network of local independent proxy advisors, Expert Corporate Governance Service (ECGS) has complemented its footprint in Europe by entering into a partnership agreement with Spain´s CORPORANCE Asesores de Voto (CORPORANCE), the first local proxy advisor and provider of advisory services to Spanish institutional investors. It will also cover the Portuguese market.
With this agreement CORPORANCE joins the partnership of local European leaders in this field such as Proxinvest (France), Ethos Foundation (Switzerland), DSW (Germany), Frontis Governance (Italy), VIRV Solutions (Netherlands) and Manifest (UK). Its incorporation completes the map of the main European partners and, like them, will provide local expert independent advice on corporate governance matters of companies listed in Spain and Portugal.
Founded in 2001, ECGS provides impartial advisory services exclusively to investors, with total independence from corporate issuers, in order to avoid any conflicts of interest. Its mission is to cater to investors’ need for insightful corporate governance advice tailored to local cultural and legal practices.
ECGS covers almost 90% of the total European market capitalization (free-float adjusted) by virtue of its widespread network of partners providing proxy voting advice, corporate governance ratings, bespoke voting policies and company engagement as well as customized reports, data delivery and monitoring.
Loïc Dessaint, CEO of Proxinvest (founded in 1995) and Managing Partner of ECGS extolled the virtues of this important development by noting that: “we are very happy to add a Spanish member to our partnership. I am convinced that CORPORANCE will bring a great deal of local expertise and in-depth knowledge of the Spanish market and corporate governance best practices. We are also confident that this agreement will help Spanish institutional investors to play a more active role in their relationship with European listed companies”.
Juan Prieto, Managing Director of CORPORANCE, a banking and corporate professional with more than 30 years of international experience exalted the new alliance as “ an honour as well as a great opportunity to become a partner of ECGS and work along a team of prestigious professionals that I have known well for a long time. I feel we are very well supported by the partnership to help Spanish investors increase their engagement activities with listed companies, and to better understand local corporate practices at Spanish issuers”.
Loïc Dessaint added: “Juan will make a great contribution to ECGS, its present and future activities, and will help us further develop our product offering and expand our footprint ”
With the upcoming review of the shareholder rights directive, aimed to further encourage transparency for institutional investors and asset managers and shareholder activism, we will see a significant improvement in investor activity, exercising their stewardship role and fiduciary duties in a much more active way.