Preparing for Proxy Season 2020

Preparing for Proxy Season 2020, an Equilar publication, examines trends in various components of proxy design across Equilar 100 companies. The report dives into how companies are using their annual proxy to provide a visual narrative for shareholders to reference. DFIN has offered independent commentary for added context and color regarding specific proxy statement disclosures, as well as insight on how to navigate through disclosures heading into 2020.

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Key Findings

• 75.8.% of Equilar 100 companies used a proxy summary in the annual proxy in 2018
• The word count of Equilar 100 companies’ CD&A portion saw a decline for the first time in five years, dropping to an average of 9,359 words in 2018
• The number of companies that included a pay mix graph fell six percentage points from 2017 to 2018, down to 78.8% of companies
• After hovering around 77.0-79.0%, the number of companies that included a compensation program checklist decreased by 3.3 percentage points from 2017 to 2018, down to 74.5%
• In 2018, 46.5% of Equilar 100 companies included a graph displaying an alternative pay calculation different from those displayed in the summary compensation table, such as realized or realizable pay