Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., which helps largeinvestors make voting choices in corporate proxy contests, will pay$300,000 to resolve U.S. regulatory claims that an employeeexchanged confidential client voting information for meals andconcert tickets.

ISS failed to establish or enforce written policies orsafeguards as the employee misused information on more than 100clients from 2007 through 2012, the Securities and ExchangeCommission said today in an administrative order. The firm, basedin Rockville, Maryland, also lacked sufficient controls overemployee access to databases of confidential client-voteinformation, the SEC said.

“Proxy advisers must tailor their controls based on the risks oftheir particular business in order to protect the integrity of theproxy voting process,” Julie Riewe, deputy chief of the SECenforcement division's asset management unit, said in astatement.