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    Transatlantic CEO Pay Gap Widening, ISS Corporate Solutions Analysis Finds

    ROCKVILLE, Md. (July 5, 2023) – ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (ICS), a leading provider of compensation, governance, cyber risk monitoring, and sustainability offerings to help companies improve shareholder value and reduce risk, today announced the results of an analysis of CEO pay at large capital companies in the U.S. and U.K. The study examines differences in CEO pay levels between the S&P 500 and FTSE 100 in the five-year period between filing years 2019 and 2023, considering the individual components of pay including base salary, short-term incentives (STI), and long-term incentive (LTI) plans.

    Key takeaways from ICS’ analysis include:

    • CEO pay growth at S&P 500 companies markedly outpaced that for FTSE 100 companies between 2019 and 2023.
      • The analysis found that S&P 500 median CEO pay increased 23 percent while median market cap rose 52 percent and median revenues rose 40 percent; conversely, FTSE 100 overall median CEO pay rose just 1.1 percent, but market-cap levels remained flat in spite of median revenues rising 20 percent.
    • The increase in the LTI component of pay for S&P 500 company CEOs is the main driver of the widening pay gap.
    • Broken down into the components of pay, the median S&P 500 CEO salary grew 15 percent versus 10 percent for the FTSE 100; annual bonus increased 22 percent among S&P 500 CEO versus 21 percent for FTSE 100 CEOs; and LTI pay grew 34 percent for the S&P 500 while decreasing by 3 percent for the FTSE 100.
    • Median vote support levels for say-on-pay proposals dropped by 1.8 percent in the UK and 1.7 percent in the U.S between filing years 2019 and 2023.

    The drop in median vote support levels for say-on-pay proposals we found on both sides of the Atlantic suggests that, against a backdrop of consistent higher shareholder dissent levels, investors still have a greater threshold for higher overall pay in the U.S.

    Stephan Stegmueller, Head of EMEA Advisory at ISS Corporate Solutions, said: “The drop in median vote support levels for say-on-pay proposals we found on both sides of the Atlantic suggests that, against a backdrop of consistent higher shareholder dissent levels, investors still have a greater threshold for higher overall pay in the U.S.”

    Access the ICS analysis here.

    ISS-Corporate is a leading provider of robust SaaS and expert advisory services to companies, globally. ISS-Corporate’s datadriven, research-backed Compass platform empowers businesses to understand and shape the signals they send to institutional investors, regulators, lenders, and other key stakeholders. By delivering essential data, tools, and advisory services, ISS-Corporate can help businesses around the world to be more resilient, align with market demands, and proactively manage governance, compensation, sustainability, and cyber risk initiatives. ISS Corporate Solutions, Inc. (“ISSCorporate”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”) and part of the ISS STOXX GmbH group of companies. ISS-Corporate provides advisory services, analytical tools and publications to companies to enable them to improve shareholder value and reduce risk through the adoption of improved corporate governance practices. The ISS STOXX Governance and ESG research teams, which are separate from ISS-Corporate, will not give preferential treatment to, and are under no obligation to support, any proxy proposal of a corporate issuer nor provide a favorable rating, assessment, and/or any other favorable results to a corporate issuer (whether or not that corporate issuer has purchased products or services from ISS Corporate). No statement from an employee of ISS-Corporate should be construed as a guarantee that ISS FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE STOXX will recommend that its clients vote in favor of any particular proxy proposal or provide a favorable rating, assessment or other favorable result. For more information, please visit https://www.iss-corporate.com

    ISS STOXX GmbH, through its group companies, is a leading provider of comprehensive and data-centric research and technology solutions that help capital market participants identify investment opportunities, detect qualitative and quantitative portfolio company risks, and meet evolving regulatory requirements. With roots dating back to 1985, we today deliver world-class benchmark and custom indices across asset classes and geographies and serve as a premier source of independent corporate governance, sustainability, cyber risk, and fund intelligence research, data, and related offerings. Our products and services give clients the scale and leverage they need to grow their business more effectively and efficiently. ISS STOXX, which is majority owned by Deutsche Börse Group, is comprised of more than 3,800 professionals operating across 30 global locations in 20 countries. Its approximately 5,500 clients include many of the world’s leading institutional investors who turn to ISS STOXX for its objective and varied offerings, as well as companies focused on ESG, cyber, and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure. Clients rely on ISS STOXX’s expertise to help them make informed decisions to benefit their stakeholders.