悉尼，10月1日：有影响力的代理投票顾问机构股东服务公司（Institutional Shareholder Services，简称ISS）敦促澳大利亚证券交易所（ASX）的投资者对其薪酬计划投反对票，称高管奖金与其近期业绩“不匹配”。
SYDNEY, Oct 1 : Influential proxy adviser Institutional Shareholder Services has urged Australian Securities Exchange invsetors to vote against its pay plans, saying executive bonuses were "misaligned" with its recent performance.
ISS表示，ASX的短期可变薪酬（STVR）未能反映其财务业绩和股东回报。
ISS said that the ASX's short-term variable remuneration, or STVR, failed to reflect its financial results and shareholder returns.
该机构指出：“STVR的结果与公司法定业绩及股东体验不匹配，这是主要关切点。”“对薪酬报告投反对票是合理的。”ASX未立即回应置评请求。
"The STVR outcome is misaligned with the company's statutory results and shareholder experience as the key concern", it said. "A vote AGAINST the remuneration report is warranted."
ASX定于10月22日召开年度股东大会，这将是新任首席执行官安东尼·阿蒂亚（Anthony Attia）上任后的首次年会。阿蒂亚于5月接替海伦·洛夫豪斯（Helen Lofthouse）出任该职位。
The ASX did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is due to hold its annual meeting on October 22, the first under new CEO Anthony Attia, who took over after Helen Lofthouse stepped down from the top job in May.
多次系统故障引发审查加剧 近年来，由于一系列平台故障及其他失误，ASX在治理能力和市场基础设施交付方面受到投资者和监管机构的压力。
MOUNTING SCRUTINY AFTER SERIES OF OUTAGES The ASX has come under pressure from investors and regulators in recent years over its governance and ability to deliver market infrastructure after a string of platform outages and other missteps.
ISS称，ASX股价在年底下跌23.6%，且一年期股东总回报表现落后于同行及指数。
Its share price closed the year down 23.6 per cent, ISS said, and one-year total shareholder returns underperformed peers and the index.
尽管如此，ISS指出，董事会并未行使酌情权削减奖金池，奖金池仍维持在目标水平的100%。
Despite this, ISS said the board did not use its discretion to reduce its bonus pool, which remained at 100 per cent of target.
该机构称，洛夫豪斯“尽管利润和股息下降，且股东总回报（TSR）为负，仍获得了全额目标奖金”。
Lofthouse received her full target bonus "despite declines in profit and dividends and negative TSR (total shareholder return)", it said.
奖金主要受一项未能反映股东承担成本的利润指标驱动，其中包括因监管罚款和更换清算系统项目相关支出产生的5150万澳元（约合3573万美元）的重大项目损失。
Bonuses were largely driven by a profit measure that failed to reflect costs borne by shareholders, including A$51.5 million ($35.73 million) in significant item losses from regulatory fines and expenses related to a project to replace its clearing system.
ISS还表示，一半的奖金基于非财务绩效指标，其中一些指标类似于高管的“日常工作”，例如员工敬业度。
Half of the bonuses were also based on non-financial performance measures, some of which were akin to executives' "day jobs", such as employee engagement, ISS said.
根据澳大利亚的“两次否决”规则，公司必须每年将薪酬报告提交股东投票表决。
Under Australia's "two strikes" rule, companies must put a remuneration report to a shareholder vote annually.
内容说明：如果反对票的比例超过 25%，则视为一次“罢免行动”（即股东对管理层的不满表达）。如果连续两年出现反对票，股东们将再次投票决定是否罢免整个董事会。
A "no" vote above 25 per cent is a strike. When "no" votes occur two years in a row, shareholders then hold another vote on whether to remove a company's entire board.
2024 年，澳大利亚证券交易所（ASX）因类似关于高管奖金的问题首次遭遇此类“罢免行动”；不过由于股东去年批准了公司的薪酬计划，公司成功避免了董事会被罢免的危机。
The ASX received a first strike in 2024 over similar concerns regarding executive bonuses, but avoided a potential board spill when shareholders endorsed its pay plans last year.
另一家代理咨询公司 CGI Glass Lewis 建议股东在即将召开的会议上批准该公司的薪酬方案。
CGI Glass Lewis, another proxy advisory firm, recommended shareholders endorse the pay report at the upcoming meeting.
尽管该公司指出股东回报表现不佳，但仍强调了公司在运营方面的进展，例如成功推出了新的“清算所电子登记系统”的第一阶段。
While it said shareholder returns were weak, it noted operational progress such as delivering the first phase of the new Clearing House Electronic Subregister System.