Wall Street: US investors to get a 'say on pay'

Shareholders of publicly-listed companies in the US will get to weigh in on executive compensation through advisory votes, under a new rule adopted by Wall Street regulators yesterday.

The "say-on-pay" rule is designed to give investors greater input over executive compensation after many of them expressed outrage during the financial crisis at lavish pay practices. Similar rules already exist in Britain, where investors can vote on executive pay packages at annual meetings. As in the UK, the US say-on-pay vote will not be binding on board members.