Products June 10, 2003

Second Global Governance Measurements Unveiled

October 18, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Starting in November, GovernanceMetrics International (GMI) will become the second firm offering global corporate governance ratings, the company said.
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GMI announced that it would start by grading the firms in the US S&P 500 and expand to cover more than 2,000 firms in different countries.

According to the announcement, GMI metrics include more than 600 data points per company.

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Users will access a website to compare corporate scores by market, region, currency zone or industry sector across a range of indicators, including board structure, transparency, and social risk management, GMI said.

With quantitative governance measurements available from both GMI and Standard & Poors’ (see S&P Ranks Companies On Investor Disclosure ), which recently announced a similar ratings effort, GMI said portfolio managers will have tools to define “investment grade governance” in making trading decisions.

Directors will be able to see how their company compares to peers at home or worldwide on governance, GMI said.

GMI founders include:

  • Gavin Anderson and Gary Kraut, both heads of investor relations firms;
  • Jon Lukomnik, former deputy comptroller of New York City, where he oversaw the pension system;
  • Howard Sherman, former chief of Institutional Shareholder Services; and
  • Stephen Davis, president of the governance consultancy Davis Global Advisors.

Anderson is CEO, Sherman the COO. GMI debuts with a staff of 28.

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