The ISS 2027 Proxy Policy Survey and What’s Actually Being Asked
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) launched its annual policy survey on August 4, 2026, seeking feedback to inform potential changes to its voting policies ahead of the 2027 proxy season. Responses are due August 14, 2026, at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time (Goltser & Descovich, 2026).
The survey’s subject matter is itself a signal of where proxy-advisory policy is likely headed. Questions of particular interest to US companies and investors include semiannual reporting, reincorporation, and say-on-pay responsiveness (Goltser & Descovich, 2026). The inclusion of semiannual reporting is notable given its direct relevance to the SEC’s own May 2026 proposed rule permitting public companies to elect semi-annual over quarterly filing (see Brief 3) — ISS surveying its constituency on this question suggests the proxy-advisory industry is actively positioning its voting-policy framework to anticipate, rather than simply react to, that potential regulatory change.
Separately, broader 2026 proxy-season data indicates that while fewer shareholder proposals are being filed overall, a higher proportion of those filed are proceeding to an actual vote, and the topics drawing shareholder attention have broadened (Brady et al., 2026). This combination — fewer but more consequential proposals — suggests a maturing or more selective use of the shareholder-proposal mechanism, with proponents concentrating effort on proposals more likely to reach a vote rather than filing broadly.
Companies and institutional investors with a stake in 2027 proxy-season outcomes have a narrow, time-bound opportunity to shape ISS’s policy framework through the August 14 survey deadline. Governance teams should treat ISS’s survey topics — particularly semiannual reporting and reincorporation — as an early indicator of which structural questions are likely to feature prominently in 2027 voting guidelines, and should prepare positions on those topics now rather than waiting for ISS’s policy announcement later in the year.
References
Brady, A., Hardy, K., Washington, A., Shainess, J., & Lamparski, N. (2026, August 6). [Untitled post on 2026 proxy season disclosure trends]. Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/
Goltser, L., & Descovich, K. (2026, August 4). [Untitled post on the 2027 proxy season and ISS policy survey]. Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance. https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/