White House, FTC Turn Up The Heat On Institutional Shareholder Services & Glass Lewis
Federal scrutiny of proxy-advisory firms and major index-fund managers intensified this week, following reports that the White House is weighing new measures to rein in their growing influence over corporate America, as well as news that the Federal Trade Commission just launched a preliminary investigation into whether these firms violated U.S. antitrust laws by influencing shareholder votes on politically sensitive issues.
On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that White House officials are discussing an executive order that would restrict proxy-advisory firms such as Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis from certain shareholder-voting recommendations.
These officials are also exploring measures to curb the voting power of large index fund managers such as BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, which collectively hold about 30% or more of U.S stocks. One option is to require fund managers to align their votes with clients who choose to cast their own.
The second report, from Bloomberg on Thursday, states that the FTC has launched a preliminary investigation into whether ISS and/or Glass Lewis violated U.S. antitrust laws by influencing shareholder votes on political issues.
The FTC's investigation stems from congressional Republicans, who argue these firms wield ungodly power over corporate America.
ISS and Glass Lewis have recommended against Tesla’s proposals time and time again since the 2018 CEO Performance Award was introduced.
It’s a good thing our shareholders ignored those recommendations otherwise they may have missed out on our market capitalization soaring by…
— Tesla (@Tesla) October 20, 2025
Federal scrutiny of proxy advisers and index-fund managers comes after Elon Musk's recent $1 trillion pay package passed, but there was controversy surrounding ISS and Glass Lewis, which advised shareholders to vote "No."
On a recent episode of the All-In podcast, Chamath Palihapitiya explained, "ISS and Glass Lewis are completely broken. The way they make decisions is hard to justify. For example, they asked to vote down Ira Ehrenpreis as a Tesla director because he didn't meet gender components, but then refused to support Kathleen Wilson Thompson, who does. It's very confusing where ISS and Glass Lewis are coming from."
🚨🇺🇸 CHAMATH: ISS AND GLASS LEWIS ARE COMPLETELY BROKEN
“I think that ISS and Glass Lewis are pretty broken.
The way they make decisions is hard to justify.
For example, they asked to vote down Ira Ehrenpreis as a Tesla director because he didn’t meet gender components, but… https://t.co/GexPFUddd3 pic.twitter.com/NWpdfPKJTr
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) October 25, 2025
Last month, venture capitalist David Sacks, who is serving as President Trump's AI and crypto czar, told the folks on the All-In podcast that the woke mind virus that infected corporate America originated with Glass Lewis and ISS through their recommendations on how shareholders should vote on various resolutions. Big index funds usually defer to these firms for voting guidance.
DAVID SACKS: “For years people have wondered why corporate America went so woke.”@DavidSacks reveals the answer: two powerful firms — Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis — control roughly 97% of all corporate voting.
When they issue a recommendation,… pic.twitter.com/DNeude8sGa
— Woke War Room (@WokeWarRoom) October 30, 2025
The Trump administration is all about defeating the woke Marxists virus, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth declaring earlier this week, "Woke is officially DEAD at the Pentagon." Next comes defeating the woke virus on Wall Street that has only one purpose: to destroy.
Tyler Durden
Thu, 11/13/2025 – 07:45