Executive pay was a defining political issue of 2012, and the political response has largely focused on giving shareholders better tools to hold companies to account. The wave of shareholder rebellions over executive pay was widely seen as proof that investors were 'waking up' to their responsibilities. But was it all that is seemed?

Our new research concludes we should be cautious about overstating the significance of the so-called 'Shareholder Spring'. We have analysed:

• Voting information disclosed by asset managers,
• Institutional investors' responses to government consultations on pay, and
• Pension providers' responses to customer emails sent as part of our 'Your Say On Pay' initiative.