Say on Pay Update: Failures Down in Russell 3000 (April 14, 2022)

Say on Pay failures in the Russell 3000 are significantly lower than this time last year, from 4.8% to 2.1%, according to Semler Brossy’s second Say on Pay report of the season. Here are some highlights from the report:

146 Russell 3000 companies have held a Say on Pay vote so far in 2022; of those, 35 are S&P 500 companies. Average support is 90.1% for the Russell 3000 and only 85.6% for the S&P 500 (well below last year’s figure).

ISS has recommended against 9.6% of the Russell 3000 companies and 11.4% of S&P 500 so far.

The Say on Pay data comes as Equilar reports a 31% increase in CEO pay for the top 100 companies that have filed so far. The increase (from $15.5 million to $20 million) was seen across all pay components, but especially annual (46% increase) and long-term (23% increase) incentives. This was largely due to a much-improved economy in 2021 as well as excellent performance by many companies through the year, even as COVID was still a major factor. 

There were nine female CEOs in the Equilar 100, up from six last year, and 13 CEOs of color - 1 Black/African American, 1 Middle Eastern/North African, 4 Asian/Pacific Islander and 7 Hispanic/Latina.