Relative TSR

Relative Total Shareholder Rewards programs
are gaining favor in the marketplace.

Communicate company performance using
Radford's Relative TSR tools


Market Research Data on the Design of Relative TSR Performance Award Programs

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Since 2005, Radford has seen an increase in programs using Relative Total Shareholder Return ("Relative TSR") as a performance metric for equity awards, as illustrated in the chart below. In order to provide our clients with accurate market practices data on this topic, Radford maintains a comprehensive database of plans and programs since 2005 involving Relative TSR. Our researchers use multiple sources of information to populate the database including special event filings, proxy statements and annual reports filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission as well as news stories and press releases. High-level findings from this research are provided complimentary on Radford's Relative TSR website. For more information or to discuss exchange programs in greater detail, please contact us. The market practices outlined here, and their implications for program design, are addressed in our Relative TSR Plan Design Whitepaper.

Relative TSR - Plan Announcements Per Year

Contents of Radford Research:


This information was last updated on January 28, 2010. Note some figures may not sum to 100% due to rounding.


1. Important Plan Design Considerations

General plan design considerations include: (1) Length of Performance Period, (2) Stock Price Averaging Period, (3) Size of Custom Peer Group, (4) Percentile Ranking for Outperform / Threshold, and (5) Outperform / Target Payout Bendpoints.

Plan Design Considerations

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2. Prevalence of Peer Group Types (Custom vs. Index)

Radford has seen that the bulk of companies tend to use a custom peer group, but when using an index, the S&P 500 is most popular.

Peer Group Type

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3. Outperform/Target Payout Bendpoints

According to our research, companies using an actual index as a comparator group tend to have higher payout bendpoints than those using custom comparator groups.

Outperform/Target Payout Bendpoints

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4. Prevalence of Payout Vehicles

Radford has seen that the vast majority of companies favor shares as the final payout vehicle.

Breakdown of Pay Vechiles

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5. Treatment upon Termination/Retirement

Radford has seen that the majority of companies prefer to payout the awards at a future multiplier, or final measure, for a participant's death, disability, or retirement during the performance period.

Treatment upon Termination/Retirement

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6. Treatment upon Change in Control

Radford has also seen that the majority of plans tend to not pro-rate the award with the actual service period when experiencing a change in control.

Treatment upon Change in Control

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7. Treatment of Dividend Equivalents

Radford has seen a trend in that most companies prefer to pay dividends based on the final measure.

Treatment of Dividend Equivalents

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8. List of Companies with Programs involving Relative TSR

List of Companies with Relative TSR

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For further information on plan design considerations, please consult our Relative TSR Plan Design Whitepaper. To learn more about how Radford can assist in the design of your equity incentive program, contact one of your Radford consultants.


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Jon Burg
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Brett Harsen
bharsen@radford.com

Matt Ward
mward@radford.com

Terry Adamson
tadamson@radford.com

Ted Buyniski
tbuyniski@radford.com

Ed Speidel
espeidel@radford.com



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