Donnelley Financial Solutions Releases Latest 'Guide to Effective Proxies'

CHICAGO - November 17, 2017 - Donnelley Financial Solutions, a leading provider of financial services communications solutions, announced that it has published the fifth edition of its "Guide to Effective Proxies," a catalog of innovative and shareholder-friendly best practices, drawn from the public filings of Donnelley Financial Solutions’ blue-chip client base. The guide serves as a unique tool to assist companies in transforming proxy statements from traditional compliance documents to more compelling shareholder communications pieces.

"Investors are increasingly engaging companies on a range of board, governance, compensation and other strategic issues,” said Ron Schneider, director of corporate governance services at Donnelley Financial Solutions. "By enhancing proxy statement disclosures, companies can better engage shareholders and secure their support for the board and management on the issues investors are focused on.”

Each year, Donnelley Financial Solutions works with over 1,500 U.S. companies on their proxy statements. This work includes printing, SEC filing, distribution, Web-hosting and furnishing advice on content, strategy and design.

"We created this guide to leverage our expertise on behalf of the investor community, promoting greater transparency and enhancing communications," said Craig Clay, president of Global Capital Markets at Donnelley Financial Solutions. "We believe that, by demonstrating more effective disclosure practices, companies will be able to sharpen their message and build stronger investor relationships."

The "Guide to Effective Proxies" covers a broad range of proxy statement topics and illustrates key areas for improvement. Several innovative practices are covered, including:

• providing investors with business context to promote thoughtful voting;
• highlighting board diversity and qualifications, and performance evaluation;
• telling a compelling pay-for-performance alignment story;
• internal board equity (with CEO/median employee pay ratio disclosure required in 2018 proxies),
• discussing the company's Corporate Social Responsibility profile,
• using graphics, charts and other visual elements to share comprehensive information in a more understandable way;
• incorporating company branding,
• improving navigation, and
• enhancing the online proxy statement.

The complimentary guide is available for download in PDF format from the Donnelley Financial Solutions website at: http://info.dfsco.com/Proxy_Guide

Source: Donnelley Financial Solutions.