It was with great sadness that Steve Wallman, founder of ProxyGovernance Inc, let the team at Manifest know that PGI would be closing its doors at the end of the year. Manifest has worked closely with the PGI team since its inception. We knew many of the team from their time at IRRC before its sale to ISS.

Like Steve, we shared the view (and still do) that the proxy research and vote agency space should be more diverse. However, nobody could have foretold the fallout from the financial crisis which made many investors uncertain about making changes to their research vendor structures. Despite the uncertainty, Steve provided unstinting support and the team continued to provide choice and diversity.

From Manifest's perspective, it will be business as usual and our committment to global coverage is unwavering. We will continue to provide our customers with complete portfolio coverage, including the US and Japanese markets with our team here providing all the necessary research and vote agency support they need.

We will very much miss working with such a professional team and wish them every success in the future.