Subscribe to weekly updates from Teneo
Global Newsletter & Insights Series
Matt is a recognized leader in ESG with over 20 years of experience from an investor, public company and academic perspective. His experience includes serving as Managing Director of ESG at Teneo Consulting, Vice President & Director of Corporate Governance at MFS Investment Management and Associate Director of the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance.
In his current role at Teneo, Matt guides public companies on ESG investing trends and the impact that ESG ratings, rankings, indexes and disclosure frameworks are having on their shareholders. He also advises companies on issues relating to ESG disclosure, engagement, activism defense, boards of directors, and proxy contests.
During his 13-year tenure at MFS Investment Management, Matt built and managed the firm’s first global ESG stewardship and active ownership program for approximately $500 billion in assets under management. Matt also managed the firm’s commitment to the Principles for Responsible Investment and was a founding member of the firm’s Responsible Investing Committee and ESG Working Group.
During his semester at the Harvard Law School Program on Corporate Governance, Matt managed the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance Forum – a thought leadership blog focused on ESG issues – and directed the Program’s events and sponsorship activities. He was also an active contributor to the Harvard Law School corporate governance curriculum.
Matt has been a guest lecturer at Harvard Law School and Boston University School of Law. He was a founding member of the US Investor Stewardship Group and served on its Governance and Marketing Committees. He also served on the Advisory Council at the Harvard Law School Program for Institutional Investors.
Matt contributed the corporate governance chapters of two publications: “The Fund Industry: How Your Money is Managed” (Robert C. Pozen and Theresa Hamacher, 2014), which is considered the main textbook on the mutual fund industry; and “Too Big To Save? How To Fix the US Financial System” (Robert C. Pozen, 2009).
Matt earned a B.A. from Tufts University and an M.B.A. from Boston University.
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News State Street Global Advisors announced it will offer investors a new company board-aligned voting policy option to further expand investor choice. The Vote with Company Board Recommendation Policy provides…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced its Sustainable Investment 2030 Strategy, which will more than double its climate-focused investments to $100B by 2030 and cut in half its portfolio’s…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Teneo published our annual study of proxy season trends, entitled: 2023 Proxy Season Review: Institutional Investor Expectations in a Divided World. In addition to covering recent proxy voting trends, the report looks at…
The 2023 proxy season reflected a post-pandemic “return to normal” with investors balancing increased focus on financial materiality with ESG considerations. Below are our top 11 takeaways from the 2023 proxy season. 1: Institutional investors go all-in on financial materiality. Walking a thin line in a divided world of ESG,…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The SEC’s Division of Examinations released its 2024 examination priorities, designed to inform investors on the key topics the Division plans to focus on in the upcoming year. Notably, there was…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Securities and Exchange Commission adopted amendments to the “Names Rule,” which modernize and enhance the rule. Current regulations require registered investment companies whose names suggest a focus on…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Teneo launched the first publication in our ESG thought leadership series titled ’23 & ESG: The DNA of 2023 U.S. Sustainability Reports. For the 3rd year in a row, we analyzed 250 sustainability…
Since we published our last study on U.S. sustainability reports 12 months ago, political attacks on ESG have escalated heading into the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign. As a result, companies are now facing critical questions on how to communicate their ESG strategies and initiatives, especially within…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) – a group representing over 400 global institutional investors – and 36 members, mostly consisted of European asset managers, called on proxy advisor Institutional…
As corporations grapple with upheaval in policies and practices due to recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings, federal and state legislative initiatives, and the fallout from culture wars, it’s becoming clear that social issues engagement is gaining relevance on par with more traditional business imperatives. Determining what guides company stances and…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The S&P Global Ratings system announced that it would no longer publish updated ESG credit indicators in its reports or update outstanding ESG credit indicators effective immediately. Following…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The SEC has finalized a wide-ranging cybersecurity-related disclosure rule, which will require publicly traded companies to disclose hacking incidents and establish, maintain and enforce written policies and procedures that are reasonably…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The International Sustainability Standards Board published its inaugural standards, launching a set of G-20 backed global rules that aim to curb greenwashing. The rules build upon the foundation…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The number of shareholder resolutions on ESG issues for the 2023 proxy season are on track to exceed 2022, though average support for ESG proposals has declined by 7.8% compared to…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Science Based Target Network (SBTN) has released the first science-based targets for nature, providing a framework for companies to holistically assess their environmental impacts. The new targets include guidance for…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Broadridge published a paper on asset manager’s increased adoption of pass-through voting options. The report highlights the growing appetite in the industry for tailored processes to provide institutional and retail investors…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News On May 10, the Republican led House Committee on Oversight and Accountability held a hearing with state Attorneys General related to ESG investing. The hearing focused on Republican allegations that inclusion…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News A group of 23 venture capital firms across the U.S. and Europe announced the formation of the Venture Climate Alliance, an organization that will define, facilitate and realize net-zero aligned pathways…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News In an annual letter to board members on State Street’s 2023 proxy voting agenda, new President and CEO Yie-Hsin Hung discussed the asset managers' fiduciary duty, its stewardship activities, and commitment…
This spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Earlier this week, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink published his annual letter to investors, which discussed the asset manager’s fiduciary responsibilities and the potential “domino” affects to the economy from raised interest…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Teneo has published a new thought leadership brief, “Communicating Your Company’s ESG Strategy in 2023: Five Tactical Considerations.” The brief discusses the challenges facing U.S. companies over…
U.S. companies are facing a new challenge in 2023 – communicating their ESG strategies in the middle of an intense anti-ESG political campaign. To help companies navigate this landscape, we have provided the below key considerations for communicating strategies within 2023 ESG reports, websites, press releases, social media, proxy statements…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Democratic members of the House of Representatives announced last month the formation of the Congressional Sustainable Investing Caucus. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Juan Vargas (D-CA) will…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Republican attorneys general from 21 U.S. states wrote a letter on Tuesday to the leading proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis, seeking answers by month’s end…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News In 2023, U.S. and global regulators are set to build on the busiest year yet in climate and sustainability rulemaking, focusing on standards and clearer market guardrails. The Securities and…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Teneo Governance team has published a new client brief, "Be Careful What You Wish For: Four Potential Consequences of Pass-through Voting For Companies." The brief defines…
On October 28th 2022, the SEC adopted the final compensation-related rule of the Dodd Frank Act, requiring companies to recoup compensation that was previously awarded to certain executives based on false information. Whereas companies were able to implement other Dodd-Frank compensation-related rules without fundamentally changing their pay plans (such as…
Earlier this year, Republican Senators introduced the “INDEX” Act that would require passively managed funds to vote proxies in accordance with the instructions from their clients. The proposed bill followed the announcement of BlackRock’s “Voting Choice” initiative that provides clients the option to vote proxies themselves. Vanguard and SSGA have…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Teneo’s U.S. GA and Governance teams have published a brief “Who’s Down With ESG? The US Midterm Elections and the Future of ESG Investing.” The brief provides views on the…
With the 2022 midterm elections nearly in the rearview mirror, has the momentum towards ESG shifted, or is the backlash that was growing around ESG still gaining ground? The meteoric rise of ESG over the past several years was predicted to receive pushback at the hands of a Republican Congress.
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Vanguard Group is planning a trial in 2023 to give retail clients more say over how their shares are voted at corporate meetings. The firm becomes the latest large money…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The International Sustainability Standards Board voted unanimously at its October meeting to include Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions and use climate-related scenario analyses in their disclosures. The ISSB aims…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News This week the Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System pulled all public equities managed by BlackRock, as Missouri become the latest conservative state to propose or implement rules…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Teneo’s ESG and Governance Teams published a memo on the state of U.S. sustainability reporting, providing insights and examples to help companies decide what to disclose and how. Overall, our team analyzed 200 sustainability reports from…
In 2022, global companies have encountered a fractured ESG landscape marked by widely divergent views. On the one hand, regulators are mandating more robust ESG disclosures from both companies and institutional investors. Regulators are also cracking down on so-called “greenwashing” – trying to hold companies accountable…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The $632 billion asset manager Federated Hermes has bowed to client demands and withdrawn its sponsorship of the State Financial Officers Foundation — a Republican group of state financial officers that has…
On August 25, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted final rules on company pay for performance disclosure required under the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act. To help companies prepare for 2023 proxy statements and annual shareholder meetings, we summarize below the key elements of the final rules, how key stakeholders (activists,…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News On August 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted new amendments that will require public companies to disclose more information on the relationship between executive compensation and financial performance.
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News BlackRock and nine European financial services firms, along with nearly 350 individual mutual funds, have been barred from doing some business in Texas after it determined that these companies were…
The 2022 proxy season was marked by external turbulence with a considerable ESG impact. In the wake of the still ongoing pandemic, companies faced new black swan events such as the war in Ukraine and navigated rising inflation, high oil prices and continued supply chain issues. Executives, directors and even…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News In the second quarter of 2022, U.S. sustainable funds experienced the first quarter of outflows in over five years, shedding $1.6 billion during the quarter amid macroeconomic issues such as the…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Last night, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced an agreement…
The comment period for the U.S. SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related disclosure ended on June 20th. Thousands of comments were submitted by companies, investors, trade associations and individuals. To help companies plan for their future climate disclosures and shareholder engagement, we have provided a summary of the six (6) issues…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Supreme Court announced last Friday to overturn Roe v Wade, handing over decision-making power on abortion to state legislatures. Corporate response has focused on supporting employee access to reproductive…
On May 25th, the SEC proposed two rules that seek to provide the market with greater clarity on how funds incorporate ESG factors into their investment activities. While the SEC’s proposed rules are directed at investment companies and mutual funds, other companies are likely to be impacted as well. The…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News A record number of environmental and social investor proposals were filed this annual-general-meeting season – both in absolute numbers and those making it to a vote. By May 16, according to data compiled…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The SEC voted in favor of two proposals that seek greater transparency of what constitutes an ESG fund. The first proposed rule would expand the scope of the Names…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that it has extended the public comment period on the proposed rulemaking to enhance and standardize climate-related disclosures for investors until June 17, 2022.
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News This proxy season is likely to be one of the most significant for shareholder proposals associated with ESG issues, after the SEC said last November that companies should generally present…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission proposed a climate-related disclosure rule for U.S. publicly traded companies and certain foreign issuers. The rule – an effort to standardize company ESG disclosures…
In a stated desire to standardize company ESG disclosures and provide investors with comparable information, the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has proposed its climate-related disclosure rule for U.S. publicly-traded companies and certain foreign issuers. A brief summary of the proposed rule is provided below. We have also analyzed…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The SEC will propose rules mandating disclosure from publicly traded companies about climate change and associated risks in a meeting on March 21. The rules will likely require companies to…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is asking many public companies to clarify their physical, legal, and regulatory climate-related risks as it readies new disclosure requirements for later this spring.
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Environmental groups have recommended to the SEC that it include disclosures on the voluntary carbon market in its forthcoming climate rule. The New York State Comptroller and a nonprofit investor…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) published a new component for the Paris Aligned Investment Initiative’s Net Zero Investment Framework (NZIF), providing guidance on aligning…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Earlier this week, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink published his annual letter to CEOs where he emphasized the importance of human capital management, stakeholder capitalism, company carbon transformation and announced the…
Those of a certain age may remember the 1980s “I Want My MTV” campaign demanding that the popular music television station be included in all cable lineups. Over 30 years later, major institutional investors have launched a similar campaign demanding that a different three-letter acronym – ESG – be included…
Amid the ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing revolution, companies are currently grappling with how to incorporate ESG measures, particularly those relating to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion), into their executive compensation programs. We reviewed 68 companies that disclose DEI metrics in their executive compensation design…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News Earlier this week, credit ratings provider S&P Global acquired The Climate Service (TCS) for an undisclosed amount to add capabilities to its portfolio of ESG insights and solutions for customers.
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News On Tuesday, BlackRock released its Investment Stewardship Report – 2022 Policies Update, which sets new guidelines to increase companies’ focus on climate risk, board diversity, sustainability reporting, executive compensation, and…
The International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation, an organization responsible for setting global accounting standards, launched the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB). The ISSB will work to establish a singular, global ESG disclosure framework for corporates. The Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) - which includes the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News A global alliance of financial institutions, investors, and businesses launched ESG Book, a data platform that creates a central source of sustainability data more widely available, comparable, and transparent for…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News At least half of BlackRock’s largest clients have signed the UN Net-Zero Alliance or have made public commitments to sustainability and emissions reduction. Clients’ increasing focus on decarbonization has prompted…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Securities and Exchange Commission this week reversed a Trump administration policy prohibiting shareholder climate proposals that ask for timelines or targets for emissions reductions. As a result, U.S. companies…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News The Wall Street Journal reported that U.S. public companies added the most diverse slate of new directors to corporate boards on record. A study by the executive and board…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News BlackRock announced that it will provide institutional investors like pensions and endowments the chance to vote on proposals themselves starting in 2022. This shift allows these asset owners to…
The significant events of 2020 have caused companies, institutional investors and regulators to re-energize their efforts towards sustainability initiatives. Institutional investors have dramatically enhanced their focus on issues relating to climate, diversity, human capital management and board governance (collectively, “ESG”). Under the Biden Administration, U.S. regulators are on the verge…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. ESG in the News With the United Nations General Assembly taking place this week, climate change has been heavy on the agenda. Ahead of the kickoff, President Biden held a virtual meeting where…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Company Moves: ESG Initiatives in the Corporate World In Andrew Ross Sorkin’s September 7 DealBook column, followed by an interview on CNBC’s “The Squawk Box,” Teneo Chairwoman Ursula Burns and Teneo Senior Advisor Gabrielle…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Company Moves: ESG Initiatives in the Corporate World On August 9, the IPCC released a special report on Global Warming of 1.5ºC, forecasting continuing record-setting extreme temperatures in the next decade. Following the release,…
Our bi-weekly spotlight explores key ESG-related market developments and their implications for corporates and investors. Company Moves: ESG Initiatives in the Corporate World In a speech during the Principles for Responsible Investment “Climate and Global Financial Markets” Webinar SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said he wants mandatory…
At his March 2nd confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, President Biden’s nominee to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, Gary Gensler, voiced support for the SEC’s role in strengthening corporate diversity. In response to questioning from Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pennsylvania) arguing that corporations should not face mandates to…
A Biden Administration will certainly have a tremendous impact on ESG issues such as climate change, racial justice and healthcare. Consequently, companies are going to be impacted in a variety of ways on ESG issues, ranging from increasing climate regulation and penalties to criminal justice and diversity. Teneo has written…
The rise of ESG investing has resulted in an evolving and sometimes confusing set of ESG acronyms. Companies often struggle to make sense of the hundreds of ESG ratings, rankings, indexes and disclosure frameworks in the marketplace. On September 22nd, the World Economic Forum, the International Business Council and the…
Barbara G. Novick, Martha Carter, Matt Filosa and Jerome Hauer, Ph.D join Kevin Kajiwara to discuss the reopening of the American economy and the rise of ESG investing. Listen to the Call Kevin Kajiwara (KK): Well, good day, everyone.
The once-in-a-hundred years global pandemic and once-in-a-generation global protests have created a seminal moment for companies and their leaders to reestablish and reinforce the basic tenets by which they run their businesses. The expansiveness of the role of the CEO and the board, as demonstrated by ESG, will continue. The changes…
Top 10 Questions Companies Should Expect from Shareholders This Proxy Season and Beyond. Health and safety are obviously the world’s top priorities right now. A number of companies are taking bold action to help mitigate the extraordinary global impacts of the coronavirus crisis. But unlike prior crises, companies are navigating…
Key Takeaways Many US companies are considering holding virtual-only shareholder meetings or adding a virtual component to create a hybrid meeting, in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Negative shareholder perception has previously made companies slow to adopt virtual annual meetings, but public health concerns may make them a necessity. The…
On November 5, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 along party lines to issue proposed rules governing the submission and resubmission of shareholder proposals for inclusion in company proxy statements and establishing new regulations for proxy advisory firms. The proposed rules include a wish list of changes long…
A company’s “ESG performance” as an investment factor in stock and fixed income selection has been evolving rapidly over the last five years. Considering a company’s ESG performance is now mainstream for European funds and catching on rapidly in the U.S. and elsewhere, companies that do not proactively address this…
On August 21, 2019, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued new guidance clarifying the role of proxy advisory firms in the voting process. The guidance has important ramifications for proxy advisory firms and the public companies that are the subjects of their research and recommendations. While the August 21st guidance…
Think like an activist. Review board composition and governance structure for potential vulnerabilities, make sure you have a defense plan, and understand any changes in your ownership base. Don’t forget corporate culture and purpose. One of the successful activist campaigns last year was the Vote-No Campaign that Elaine Wynn launched…
Teneo’s Martha Carter, Head of Governance Advisory, and Matt Filosa and Sean Quinn, both senior members of Teneo’s Governance Advisory team, discuss the continued market volatility and its effects on corporate governance and ESG issues, including advice on how a company’s institutional investors may view issues such as executive compensation,…
You have heard of ISS. You have heard of Glass Lewis. But have you heard of Sustanalytics? RobecoSAM? RepRisk? These are firms that specialize in rating how companies manage the risks of environmental, social and governance issues. Like better known proxy advisors, these ESG firms can have significant impact on…
November was a busy month for corporate governance, including: (i) newly proposed legislation on proxy advisory firms; (ii) SEC proxy voting roundtable held on November 15th; and (iii) updated ISS and Glass Lewis proxy policies announced in November. See our September client insight on proxy advisor regulatory reform for related…
Corporate Leadership in the Stakeholder Era
