Uncovering the ISS & Glass Lewis Monopoly: A Look at the Corporate Governance Industry #occupysec23

The subject of our video is the alleged monopoly in the corporate governance industry held by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis. These two companies are considered to be the leading providers of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions, market intelligence, fund services, and events and editorial content for institutional investors and corporations globally. They are considered to have significant influence on the proxy voting process and corporate governance practices of public companies. Many argue that their dominance in the industry raises concerns about competition and the potential for conflicts of interest. In this video, we will take a closer look at the ISS and Glass Lewis monopoly and its potential impact on the corporate governance industry and the investment community. We will explore the arguments for and against the idea of a monopoly in this field, as well as the possible consequences for companies and investors.

Glass Lewis is a company that helps other companies make good decisions. They do this by giving other companies advice and information about how to run their business the right way. This is called "corporate governance." They also have a tool that helps companies keep track of how they make decisions and vote on different things.

The company was started by a group of people who were experts in finance, accounting, and law. They wanted to make sure that companies were being fair to their investors, so they created Glass Lewis to help. They have been doing this for many years and have helped over 1,200 companies around the world.

Glass Lewis is based in San Francisco, but they also have offices in other places like New York, London, and Australia. They offer different services to help companies make good decisions, like research reports and a voting platform. They also have other companies that work with them, like Glass Lewis Europe Limited and Glass Lewis Japan GK.

Overall, Glass Lewis is a company that helps other companies make good decisions and be fair to their investors. They do this by giving them advice, information, and tools to make sure they are doing the right thing.


ISS is a company that helps investors and companies make good decisions. Founded in 1985, it provides high-quality data, analytics and insight to build for long-term and sustainable growth. They are majority owned by Deutsche Bourse Group, Genstar Capital and ISS management. They are a leading provider of corporate governance and responsible investment solutions, market intelligence, fund services, and events and editorial content for institutional investors and corporations globally. With 2,600 employees operating worldwide across 29 global locations in 15 countries, and about 3,400 clients including some of the world’s leading institutional investors rely on ISS' expertise to help them make informed investment decisions, as well as public companies focused on ESG and governance risk mitigation as a shareholder value enhancing measure.

Glass Lewis and ISS are both companies that provide corporate governance solutions to investors and companies. They both offer research, analysis, and recommendations on proxy votes and other financial transactions, as well as vote management platforms and other services. However, there are some key differences between the two companies.

One difference is the scope of their services: Glass Lewis focuses on providing research and analysis on proxy votes, while ISS offers a wider range of services such as market intelligence, fund services, and events and editorial content.

Another difference is the ownership and management structure: Glass Lewis is a privately held company, while ISS is majority-owned by Deutsche Bourse Group and other investors. Additionally, ISS is a larger company with more employees and clients.

Finally, ISS also provides a range of services to help companies and investors to evaluate and improve their environmental, social and governance performance, while Glass Lewis focuses more on corporate governance and proxy voting.