This is the NAPF’s third annual review of the preceding AGM season published in advance of updating its Corporate Governance Policy & Voting Guidelines for the subsequent year.

Immediate reflections on the 2015 season suggest that it was a relatively quiet year. The heightened focus on issues of corporate governance however, remains here to stay and with more investors giving more resource and attention to stewardship, and in turn voting more shares, the 2015 AGM season was not quite as placid as it first appeared.

The report identifies 12 companies (see page 9) within the FTSE 350 for whom a significant proportion of their shareholders have for a successive year expressed discontent with particular aspects of their governance arrangements.

The topic of executive pay also remains a key focus for investors as well as for the media and wider stakeholders. The report highlights the top five FTSE 100 and top ten FTSE 250 shareholder rebellions (see pages 13 - 14) which includes two remuneration reports which failed to attract the support of a majority of shareholders - Intertek Group and Diploma (although in the case of Diploma the resolution did pass).

Finally, given the increased emphasis on the accountability of individual directors in recent years we have this year also highlighted those instances whereby a director seeking re-election received more than 15% dissent.

The NAPF will continue to assess how companies are matching up against its corporate governance policy, monitor developments in good practice and seek improvements from both companies and investment managers in the best interests of our pension fund members.