Man Group has suffered a sizeable shareholder revolt for a second time after paying Manny Roman, its chief executive, $5.3 million in a year during which profits plunged.
Almost 44 per cent of shareholders voted against the hedge fund manager’s remuneration report or abstained at the annual meeting yesterday.
There was also a small but significant rebellion against Phillip Colebatch, the non-executive director in charge of setting remuneration, with 9.5 per cent of shareholders voting against his re-election or abstaining.
Some investors are incensed that not enough was done after last year’s annual meeting, when 35 per cent voted against the remuneration report and 43 per cent against the company’s pay policy. Since then Mr Roman’s base salary, used as the starting point to calculate his bonuses, has been raised by 10 per cent to $1 million.
Man defended the rise, saying that it was the executive’s first in five years. The total package for Mr Roman, 52, included a $2.5 million short-term bonus and was up by 6 per cent, in spite of a patchy year during which profits halved and in which shareholders lost money. The total pay for Jonathan Sorrell, finance director, rose from $3.2 million to $3.8 million.
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Institutional investors have threatened to vote against the remuneration committee chairman if they feel that their concerns are not being taken seriously.
As previously announced, Mr Colebatch, a former Credit Suisse investment banker, is standing aside, to be succeeded by Richard Berliand, a former JP Morgan investment banker.
The board issued an immediate statement in the wake of the revolt, conceding that there had been “a significant” vote against and saying that it would continue to engage with shareholders and take account of their views. It added that Mr Berliand “welcomes the opportunity to discuss the outcome of the vote on remuneration matters with any shareholder who wishes to do so”.
The revolt follows protest votes at other companies: 18 per cent of Reckitt & Benckiser shareholders voted against the £23 million package for Rakesh Kapoor, its chief executive, while 42 per cent voted against the remuneration report at Ladbrokes. BP, Weir Group and Shire also have been on the receiving end of votes against executive pay.