Glass Lewis
Glass Lewis researches companies and tells big investors how to vote at shareholder meetings.
On the record
Checkpoint: 2026 proxy season closes; watch whether BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, or Fidelity announce their own in-house AI voting tools
The call
Glass Lewis still runs most of the proxy advice business, but its biggest client just built a replacement in house, and regulators are circling the whole industry at once.
Glass Lewis tells investment firms how to vote on shareholder decisions by reading through company filings and making recommendations. The company has about one-third of this market and most clients stick around year after year. But the real problem is that the work itself is not that hard to copy: JPMorgan just built its own AI system called Proxy IQ to do the same thing in January 2026, and other giant investors like BlackRock and Vanguard might follow. If they do, Glass Lewis loses its biggest customers and becomes just a small software company instead of a powerful advisor. The one thing that could save the picture is if regulators force these big investors to keep using outside advice instead of going solo, but right now the trend is going the other way.
Why
01
AI pressure: JPMorgan Asset Management's in-house AI tool Proxy IQ. JPMorgan dropped Glass Lewis and ISS entirely in Jan 2026, building its own AI voting engine instead of paying for recommendations. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Large asset managers like BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, and Fidelity. If more mega managers copy JPMorgan and build AI voting tools in house, Glass Lewis loses its biggest clients from the top down. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Deep coverage of 30,000+ meetings a year across 100 markets is hard for any single firm's AI to replicate fast, and 95% renewal shows switching costs are real for now.
What would change this call
BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, or Fidelity announce in-house AI proxy voting during 2026 season. Would show JPMorgan's exit is becoming an industry cascade, not an isolated case.
FTC antitrust probe or SEC rulemaking on proxy advisors concludes with new restrictions. Would show regulators are structurally weakening Glass Lewis's duopoly position.
Glass Lewis's multi-perspective voting policy launches on schedule by 2027. Would show Glass Lewis can adapt its model fast enough to retain clients.
FTC antitrust probe or SEC rulemaking on proxy advisors concludes with new restrictions. Would show regulators are structurally weakening Glass Lewis's duopoly position.
Glass Lewis's multi-perspective voting policy launches on schedule by 2027. Would show Glass Lewis can adapt its model fast enough to retain clients.
Key numbers
- 28-42% proxy advisory market share, ISS holds ~48-63%
- 1,300+ clients, 30,000+ meetings covered yearly
- 95% client renewal rate, self-reported
Named risks
- Executive Order 14366 could force SEC rulemaking mandating adviser registration or methodology disclosure.
- Large asset managers copying JPMorgan's in-house AI exit during 2026 proxy season.
- FTC antitrust probe (opened Sept-Nov 2025) into steering practices with ISS.
- State-level litigation and legislation (Florida, Texas) restricting proxy adviser operations.
- Core vote-recommendation product is LLM-shaped and directly replicable by well-resourced clients.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) | contesting | ISS and Glass Lewis jointly hold >90% of proxy advisory market as of Dec 2025 |
| JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management (in-house Proxy IQ) | losing to | JPMorgan fully replaced Glass Lewis and ISS with in-house AI tool, announced Jan 7, 2026 |
Questions people ask
- Is Glass Lewis profitable in 2026?
- Glass Lewis is privately held (owned by Peloton Capital Management and Stephen Smith since March 2021) and does not disclose financials publicly, so no verified profitability figures exist as of mid-2026; only unverified third-party revenue estimates circulate.
- Could AI replace Glass Lewis?
- Partly already happening: JPMorgan Asset & Wealth Management announced on January 7, 2026 it would fully replace Glass Lewis and ISS with its in-house AI tool 'Proxy IQ' for US voting, covering over 3,000 annual meetings, starting Q1 2026.
- Who owns Glass Lewis?
- Glass Lewis has been owned by private equity firm Peloton Capital Management and Canadian financier Stephen Smith since March 16, 2021, when they bought it from Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan and AIMCo; Peloton remained controlling owner as of mid-2026.
- Who is Glass Lewis's biggest competitor?
- Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), owned by Deutsche Borse, is Glass Lewis's main rival; together they control over 90% of the proxy advisory market as of December 2025, per a White House Executive Order. A newer threat is in-house AI tools like JPMorgan's Proxy IQ, launched January 2026.
- Is Glass Lewis under regulatory pressure?
- Yes. Executive Order 14366, issued December 11, 2025, directs the SEC to review rules favoring proxy advisers and consider mandatory investment-adviser registration; the FTC opened an antitrust probe into Glass Lewis and ISS around September to November 2025, and Florida's AG sued in September 2025.
- What is Glass Lewis's market share versus ISS?
- Per a December 11, 2025 White House Executive Order, Glass Lewis holds roughly 28 to 42% of the proxy advisory market versus ISS's 48 to 63%, with the two firms together controlling over 90% of the overall market as of 2025.
Timeline
- 2026-04-27Glass Lewis SVP Arik Brutian details internal AI use: LLMs, classifiers, human-override framework
- 2026-01-07JPMorgan announces replacing ISS and Glass Lewis with in-house AI tool Proxy IQ
- 2025-12-11Executive Order 14366 issued targeting proxy advisers, directs SEC review
- 2025-11-12FTC opens antitrust probe into ISS and Glass Lewis over climate/social steering
- 2025-10-15Glass Lewis announces ending single benchmark policy for multi-perspective voting by 2027
- 2025-09-01Florida AG sues ISS and Glass Lewis alleging misleading practices
- 2025-08-01Texas court blocks enforcement of state proxy-adviser restriction law
- 2025-05-07Glass Lewis completes acquisition of Stockholm stewardship platform Esgaia
- 2025-03-11Glass Lewis states it serves 1,300+ clients and covers 30,000+ meetings yearly
- 2021-03-16Peloton Capital Management and Stephen Smith acquire Glass Lewis from Ontario Teachers/AIMCo
Revision history
22 July 2026
First assessed. Losing its protection. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- JPMorgan drops proxy advisory firms in favor of AI platform (2026-01-07)
- Glass Lewis Accelerates Its Investment Stewardship Strategy (2025-03-11)
- Protecting American Investors From Foreign-Owned and Politically-Motivated Proxy Advisors (2025-12-11)
- Glass Lewis
- Glass Lewis - Overview, News & Similar companies (2026-07-06)
- Ontario Teachers' and AIMCo Have Sold Glass Lewis to a Private Equity Firm (2021-03-16)
- Glass Lewis Number of Employees 2026 (2026-06-29)
- Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (2025-05-07)
- Glass, Lewis & Co., LLC (2025-10-15)
- White House Executive Order Aims To Restrict the Influence of Proxy Advisory Firms (2025-12-15)
- Executive Order 14366 (2025-12-16)
- Proxy Advisers ISS, Glass Lewis Come Under Competition Probe (2025-11-12)