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By Chris Vellacott
LONDON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - One of Britain's most influentialfund managers Standard Life Investments has come out in supportof controversial plans to give shareholders greater powers toblock executive pay at UK companies.
Edinburgh-based SLI said on Wednesday it is supporting apackage of reforms first proposed in June that included makingshareholder votes on director pay binding after the governmentpersuaded it the plans would be flexible and workable.
"BIS (The Department for Business Innovation and Skills)...developed proposals that are capable of practical implementationand provide an appropriate blend of flexibility withaccountability," Guy Jubb, Standard Life's Global Head ofGovernance and Stewardship said in an emailed response toReuters.
The investment manager had initially opposed the plan forbinding votes on remuneration, arguing they would beimpractical.
The support of Standard Life is significant because with 163billion pounds ($247 billion) under management it is one of theUK's largest investors and holds significant stakes in manyEuropean and British blue chip companies.
Its stance may also help convince other fund firms andindustry experts who fear the new rules risk excessive meddlingin management of companies by shareholders who may not have theresources to fully understand each firm they invest in.
"We have been persuaded that, taken as a whole, the proposedmeasures will serve to strengthen shareholders' ability to holdboards to account," Standard Life said in a report on governancereleased on Wednesday.
Shareholders currently only have an advisory, non-bindingvote on director pay. Government proposals to change this wereconceived in the midst of an investor backlash against boardroom pay which had multiplied over a decade in which shareprices languished.
Last year saw a number of shareholders vote against paypackages in what became known as Britain's "shareholder Spring".
In May, British insurer Aviva's chief executiveAndrew Moss and Sly Bailey, head of British newspaper groupTrinity Mirror, became high-profile casualties aftershareholders took issue with rebelled against large paypackages, falling profits and poor share performances.
Investors also blocked in June a 6.8 million pounds payaward for Martin Sorrell, head of the world's biggestadvertising agency WPP.
Among the examples highlighted by Standard Life of itswrangles with companies over executive pay last year was itsopposition to bonuses paid to former Barclays CEO BobDiamond and Finance Director Chris Lucas.
