Manufacturers Fight for Proxy Firm Curbs as Trump SEC Sits Out

A business group rebuffed claims that 2020 SEC rules improperly limited firms counseling investors on how to vote at companies’ annual meetings, as it defends the agency in court against proxy advisory firm ISS.

The Securities and Exchange Commission rules from the first Trump administration were “commonsense measures to protect investors,” the National Association of Manufacturers said in a brief filed Thursday with the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The manufacturers group is appealing a judge’s decision to toss the regulations last year. Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. sued to stop the rules, saying the SEC ...