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Embarrassed by a surprise $2 billion trading loss last week, thechairman and chief executive of JPMorgan Chase & Co facedheightened criticism at the bank's annual meeting on Tuesday. Thatincluded 40 percent backing from shareholders for a resolution tostrip Dimon of his chairmanship title, up from 34 percent in 2010. With the spring U.S. annual meeting season at its midpoint,investors have voted 36 percent of their shares on average in favorof measures urging companies to appoint board chairmen who areindependent from management, up from 33 percent last year and 28percent in 2010, according to proxy advisory firm ISS. More votes are scheduled on similar proposals this month, such as ameasure on the ballot at oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp calling for anindependent chair after current chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson, 60,leaves. Another calls for splitting those same two jobs at cableoperator Comcast Corp now held by Brian Roberts, whose father,Ralph, co-founded the company. Institutional investors "can see the turning point, when a splitrole will be the majority, not the oddity among corporations," saidPaul Hodgson, senior research associate at governance company GMIRatings. About 45 percent of Fortune 500 companies have divided the chairmanand CEO roles between two individuals, GMI data show, up fromroughly 35 percent five years ago. Even non-binding shareholdermajorities are hard to ignore. Moody's Corp named an independentchairman in April, citing an advisory vote urging it to do so in2011. While support to split the top roles is gaining, shareholder votesin favor of top executive pay are holding steady, even after a fewhigh-profile rejections. Last month, Citigroup Inc shareholdersdelivered a surprise loss in an advisory vote to Chief ExecutiveVikram Pandit and his $15 million compensation package. As of May 15, executive pay resolutions reached the overwhelming 90percent support level at 74 percent of companies this year, up from72 percent of companies last year, according to pay consulting firmSemler Brossy. At JPMorgan, 92 percent of votes cast backed thebank's pay plan, including $23 million for Dimon, up from 73percent last year. Splitting the CEO and chairman roles should improve the process fordetermining pay properly, some large investors say. Ariel Investments in Chicago voted in favor of measures to separatethe chair and chief executive roles at several companies this year,though not at JPMorgan. In many cases an independent chair shouldhelp boards provide better oversight of pay and other managementissues, Charles Bobrinskoy, research director at Ariel, said. "We don't want to have a say on pay," he said. "We want a goodprocess for a good board to determine compensation properly." Splitting the roles may improve internal reviews of executive pay,Timothy Hoyle, director of research for Haverford Investments ofRadnor, Pennsylvania, said. The firm voted to cleave the roles atJPMorgan this week. "An independent chair might instill some reality," he said. The lack of pay pressure and the new attention to chairman and CEOroles show investors getting down in the governance weeds ratherthan rebelling en masse, specialists say. "It's evolution versus revolution," said Todd Sirras, Semler Brossymanaging principal. Shareholder activists and unions like the American Federation ofState, County and Municipal Employees have also put a new emphasison independent chair resolutions this year. Changing voting patterns at major mutual funds, which used to marchin lockstep with management, may be feeding the trend as well.Funds have been required to disclose their votes on proxy measuresannually since 2004. Last year American Funds, the second-largest manager of U.S. stockand bond mutual funds at the end of March, voted to supportmeasures like requiring independent chairmen 67 percent of thetime, up from 52 percent in 2010 and 39 percent in 2009, accordingto research firm Fund Votes Inc in Vancouver. Filings for 2012 arenot yet available. Several other big fund companies showed increasing support for themeasures from 2010 to 2011, including BlackRock Inc and FidelityInvestments. All three fund companies declined to comment. (Reporting by Ross Kerber; editing by Aaron Pressman and PrudenceCrowther). The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as 6D Theater Manufacturer , China GLOBAL Customers Projects, and more. For more , please visit 4D Cinema System today!
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