UK – US-based Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and the National Association of Pension Funds have announced that their joint venture, RREV, will now be solely owned by ISS.

A change to the ownership structure of RREV - which provides corporate governance research, recommendations and electronic voting services to institutional investors on UK-listed stocks – will provide better operational efficiency and enhance client services, according to a joint statement.

The ownership change was effective from June 30.

A long-term licensing agreement will ensure the NAPF’s corporate governance policy will remain the sole basis used by RREV in its analysis of cases and its voting recommendations on UK companies.

According to ISS and the NAPF, both parties will continue to work closely together and will remain fully committed to the success of RREV, which will continue to operate as it has since inception in 2003.

David Paterson, the newly appointed NAPF corporate governance chief and RREV research head, will ensure continuity in the application of NAPF policy and the quality of research.

A RREV Advisory Committee is also being formed with members from the NAPF, ISS and RREV.

“The NAPF has been active in the field of corporate governance for over three decades, and is committed to remaining so,” said NAPF chief executive Christine Farnish.

“Pension funds are major institutional investors in equities and our leadership in terms of encouraging high standards of corporate governance is important,” she continued.

According to ISS chief executive John Connolly, “We remain committed to providing the best possible corporate governance services for our clients, and are confident that the new structure of the partnership will prove beneficial for all involved.”

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