UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

SCHEDULE 14A INFORMATION

Proxy Statement Pursuant to Section 14(a) of the

Securities Exchange Act of 1934

(Amendment No.    )

Filed by the Registrant  þ                            Filed by a Party other than the Registrant  ¨

Check the appropriate box:

 

¨þ Preliminary Proxy Statement
¨ Confidential, for Use of the Commission Only (as permitted by Rule 14a-6(e)(2))
þ¨ Definitive Proxy Statement
¨ Definitive Additional Materials
¨ Soliciting Material under Rule 14a-12

Stewart Information Services Corporation
(Name of registrant as specified in its charter)
(Name of person(s) filing proxy statement, if other than the registrant)
Payment of Filing Fee (Check the appropriate box):
þ No fee required.
¨ Fee computed on table below per Exchange Act Rules 14a-6(i)(4) and 0-11.
 (1) 

Title of each class of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

  

 

 (2) 

Aggregate number of securities to which transaction applies:

 

 

  

 

 (3) 

Per unit price or other underlying value of transaction computed pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 0-11 (set forth the amount on which the filing fee is calculated and state how it was determined):

 

 

  

 

 (4) 

Proposed maximum aggregate value of transaction:

 

 

  

 

 (5) Total fee paid:
  
  

 

¨ Fee paid previously with preliminary materials.
¨ Check box if any part of the fee is offset as provided by Exchange Act Rule 0-11(a)(2) and identify the filing for which the offsetting fee was paid previously. Identify the previous filing by registration statement number, or the Form or Schedule and the date of its filing.
 (1) 

Amount Previously Paid:

 

 

  

 

 (2) 

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 (3) 

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 (4) 

Date Filed:

 

 

  

 

 

 

 


PRELIMINARY PROXY MATERIAL

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 6, 2015

Common nominees

STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION

1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800

Houston, Texas 77056

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held May 3, 20131, 2015

Notice is hereby given that Stewart Information Services Corporation, a Delaware corporation, will hold its annual meeting of stockholders on May 3, 2013,1, 2015, at 8:30 a.m., CDT, in the First Floor Conference Room of Three Post Oak Central, 1990 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77056, for the following purposes:

 

 (1)To elect Stewart Information Services Corporation’s directors;

 

 (2)To approve an advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers;

 

 (3)To ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013;2015;

(4)To consider a stockholder advisory proposal described in the accompanying Proxy Statement, if properly presented at the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders; and

 

 (4)(5)To transact such other business as may properly come before the meeting or any adjournmentadjournment(s) thereof.

THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTE:

 

  

FOR the five nominees for director to be elected by the common stockholders,

 

  

FOR the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers, and

 

  

FOR the ratification of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013.2015.

The Board is making no recommendation regarding the stockholder advisory proposal relating to the conversion of the Class B common stock into common stock.

The holders of record of Stewart’s common stock and Class B common stock at the close of business on March 1, 20132, 2015 will be entitled to vote at the meeting.

By Order of the Board of Directors,

LOGO

J. Allen Berryman

Secretary

March 28, 2013[], 2015

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING THE AVAILABILITY OF PROXY MATERIALS FOR

THE STOCKHOLDERS’ MEETING TO BE HELD MAY 3, 20131, 2015

Our proxy statement for the 20132015 Annual Meeting and our Annual Report on Form 10-K

for the fiscal year ended December 31, 20122014 are available atwww.stewart.com/2013-annual-meeting.2015-annual-meeting

IMPORTANT

You are cordially invited to attend the annual meeting in person. Even if you plan to be present, you are

urged to sign, date and mail the enclosed proxy promptly. If you attend the meeting you can vote either in

person or by your proxy.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

General Information

  1

Background of Solicitation

5  

Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management

   37  

Proposal No. 1—Election of Directors

   610  

Corporate Governance

   915  

Executive Officers

   1521  

Compensation Discussion and Analysis

   1723  

Executive Compensation

   3140  

Compensation Committee Report

   3948  

Proposal No.  2—Advisory Vote Regarding the Compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s Named Executive Officers

   4049  

Proposal No. 3—Ratification of the Appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services  Corporation’s Independent Auditors for 20132015

   4150  

Report of the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors

   4251

Proposal No.  4—Stockholder Advisory Proposal Relating to the Conversion of Class B Common Stock into Common Stock

52  

Certain Transactions

   4354  

Stockholder Proposals for Next Annual Meeting

   4455  

Householding

   4455  

Other Matters

   4455

Annex A—Additional Information Regarding Participants in the Solicitation

A-1  


PRELIMINARY PROXY MATERIAL

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 6, 2015

STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION

1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800

Houston, Texas 77056

(713) 625-8100

PROXY STATEMENT FOR THE ANNUAL

MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS

To Be Held May 3, 20131, 2015

Except as otherwise specifically noted, the “Company,” “SISCO,” “Stewart,” “we,” “our,” “us,” and similar words in this proxy statement refer to Stewart Information Services Corporation.

Stewart Information Services Corporation is furnishing this proxy statement to our stockholders in connection with the solicitation by our board of directors (the “Board”) of proxies for the annual meeting of stockholders we are holding Friday, May 3, 2013,1, 2015, at 8:30 a.m., CDT, in the First Floor Conference Room of Three Post Oak Central, 1990 Post Oak Boulevard, Houston, Texas, 77056, or for any adjournmentadjournment(s) of that meeting. For directions to the annual meeting, please contact Ted C. JonesNat Otis in Investor Relations at (713) 625-8014.625-8360.

Proxies in the form enclosed, properly executed by stockholders and received in time for the meeting, will be voted as specified therein. Unless you specify otherwise, the shares represented by your proxy will be voted (i) for the board of directors’ nominees listed therein, (ii) for the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers, and (iii) for the ratification of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013.2015 and (iv) to abstain on the advisory stockholder proposal relating to the conversion of the Class B common stock into common stock. If after sending in your proxy you wish to vote in person or change your proxy instructions, you may before your proxy is voted deliver (i) a written notice revoking your proxy or (ii) a timely, later-dated proxy. Such notice or later-dated proxy shall be delivered either (i) in care of our Corporate Secretary, Stewart Information Services Corporation, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056, or (ii) in person at the meeting. Please note that stockholders who hold their shares in our 401(k) plan must provide their voting instructions no later than 11:59 p.m., EDT, two days prior to the meeting. We are mailing this proxy statement on or about March 28, 2013,[], 2015, to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 1, 2013.2, 2015.

At the close of business on March 1, 2013, 20,045,3072, 2015, 23,308,151 shares of our common stock (“Common Stock”) and 1,050,012 shares of our Class B common stock (“Class B Stock”) were outstanding and entitled to vote, and only the holders of record on such date may vote at the meeting. A quorum will exist if a majority of the holders of Common Stock and the majority of the holders of Class B Stock, issued and outstanding of each such class, and entitled to vote, are present in person or represented by proxy. We will count the shares held by each stockholder who is present in person or represented by proxy at the meeting to determine the presence of a quorum at the meeting. AsPer our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Certificate of Incorporation”), as long as 600,000 or more shares of Class B Stock are outstanding, the Common Stock and Class B Stock will be voted as separate classes at each election of directors. Holders of our Class B Stock, whom we refer to as our Class B Stockholders, may convert their shares of Class B Stock into shares of our Common Stock on a one-for-one basis at any time.

The holders of our Common Stock, whom we refer to as our Common Stockholders, voting as a class, are entitledrequired to elect five of our nine directors. Each Common Stockholder iswill be entitled either to cast one vote per share for or against each of those five directors, or to vote cumulatively by casting five votes per share, which may be distributed in any manner among any number of the nominees for director. The enclosed form of proxy allows you to vote for all of the nominees listed therein, to withhold authority to vote for one or more of such nominees, or to withhold authority to vote for all of suchdirector nominees. If you withhold authority to vote for four or fewer of the nominees, and if there are nominees other than those nominated by the board of directors for the director positions to be elected by the Common Stockholders as listed in this proxy statement, then the persons named in the enclosed proxy may vote cumulatively by dividing the number of votes represented by the proxy equally among the nominees for whom you did not withhold authority to vote. If there are no nominees other than those nominated by the board of directors for the five positions to be elected by the Common Stockholders, the persons named in the enclosed proxy intend to allocate the votes represented by the proxy evenly among the nominees chosen by the board of directors as listed in this proxy statement. If there are any additional nominees for such positions, the persons named in the enclosed proxy will vote cumulatively to elect as many as possible of the nominees chosen by the board of directors. If it is not possible to elect each of the five nominees chosen by the board of directors, the persons named in the enclosed proxy will have discretion as to how they allocate the votes among the Company nominees chosen by the board of directors.

Unless there are director nominees other than those nominated by the board of directors, withholdinga director nominee will be elected as a director if the votes cast for his or her election exceed votes cast against his or her election. In

this case, any director nominee who does not receive a majority of authorityvotes cast “for” his or her election would be required to vote intender his or her resignation following the enclosed proxy will not affectfailure to receive the election of those directors for whom you withhold authorityrequired vote. Pursuant to vote because ourthe Company’s Amended and Restated By-Laws provide(the “By-Laws”), if the Secretary of the Corporation determines that the number of director nominees exceeds the number of directors areto be elected byas of the date seven days prior to the scheduled mailing date of the proxy statement, a plurality voting standard will apply and a director nominee receiving a plurality of votes cast will be elected as a director. Because Bulldog Investors, LLC and certain of its affiliates (together, “Bulldog”) have advised the shares voted in person or by proxy.Company of its intention to nominate five alternative director nominees for election at the 2015 annual meeting of stockholders (the “2015 Annual Meeting”) more than seven days prior to the scheduled mailing of this proxy statement, the standard for election of directors to the Board at the 2015 Annual Meeting will be a plurality vote if Bulldog proceeds with nominating five alternative director nominees. For the purpose of electing directors, broker non-votes and abstentions are not treated as a vote cast affirmatively or negatively, and therefore will not affect the outcome of the election of directors. Both abstentions and broker non-votes are counted for purposes of determining the presence of a quorum.

Our Class B Stockholders, voting as a class, are entitledrequired by the Certificate of Incorporation to elect the remaining four of our nine directors. Each Class B Stockholder has the right to vote, in person or by proxy, the number of shares it owns for those four directors for whose election it has a right to vote.

Our Common Stockholders and Class B Stockholders will vote together as a single class with respect to the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of our named executive officers. Approval of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the shares voted at the meeting. Brokers do not have discretionary authority to vote shares on the proposal without direction from the beneficial owner. Broker non-votes will not be counted. Abstentions, which will be counted as shares present for purposes of determining a quorum, will not be considered in determining the results of the voting for this proposal. Your shares will be voted as you specify on your proxy. If your properly executed proxy does not specify how you want your shares voted, the shares represented by your proxy will be voted “FOR” the approval of this proposal.

Our Common Stockholders and Class B Stockholders will vote together as a single class with respect to the ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as our independent auditors for 2013.2015. The ratification of this proposal requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the shares voted at the meeting. Under New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) rules, the approval of our independent auditors is considered a routine matter, which means that brokerage firms may vote in their discretion on this proposal if the beneficial owners do not provide the brokerage firms with voting instructions. Abstentions, which will be counted as shares present for purposes of determining a quorum, will not be considered in determining the results of the voting for this proposal. Your shares will be voted as you specify on your proxy. If your properly executed proxy does not specify how you want your shares voted, wethe shares represented by your proxy will vote thembe voted “FOR” the approval of this proposal.

ExceptOur Common Stockholders and Class B Stockholders will vote together as otherwise specifically noted,a single class with respect to the “Company,” “SISCO,” “we,” “our,” “us,”stockholder advisory proposal relating to the conversion of Class B Stock into Common Stock. Approval of this stockholder advisory proposal requires the affirmative vote of the majority of the shares voted at the meeting. Approval of the stockholder advisory proposal would not itself eliminate the Company’s dual class capital structure, but rather it would be an advisory recommendation to the Board to submit such a proposal to the stockholders in the future. Brokers do not have discretionary authority to vote shares on the stockholder advisory proposal without direction from the beneficial owner. Broker non-votes will not be counted. Abstentions, which will be counted as shares present for purposes of determining a quorum, will not be considered in determining the results of the voting for this stockholder advisory proposal. Your shares will be voted as you specify on your proxy. If your properly executed proxy does not specify how you want your shares voted, the shares represented by your proxy will be voted “ABSTAIN” with respect to this stockholder advisory proposal.

You may receive solicitation materials from a dissident stockholder, Bulldog Investors, LLC, Opportunity Partners L.P. and similar wordscertain of their affiliates, seeking your proxy to vote for James Chadwick,

Gerald Hellerman, Richard Latto, Andrew Dakos and Phillip Goldstein to become members of the board of directors and a stockholder advisory proposal relating to the conversion of the Class B Stock into Common Stock. YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN OR RETURN ANY PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY BULLDOG. YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS A VOTEFOR THE ELECTION OF THE FOLLOWING BOARD NOMINEES: ARNAUD AJDLER, GLENN C. CHRISTENSON, ROBERT L. CLARKE, LAURIE C. MOORE, AND DR. W. ARTHUR PORTER ON THE ENCLOSEDWHITE PROXY CARD.

YOUR VOTE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THIS YEAR IN LIGHT OF THE PROXY CONTEST BEING CONDUCTED BY BULLDOG.

Whether or not you plan to attend the meeting, and whatever the number of shares you own, please complete, sign, date and promptly return the enclosed WHITE proxy card. Please use the accompanying envelope, which requires no postage if mailed in the United States. If you own shares in “street name” through a bank, broker or other nominee, you may vote your shares by telephone or Internet by following the instructions on the proxy card. Please note, however, that if you wish to vote in person at the meeting and your shares are held of record by a broker, bank or other nominee, you must obtain a “legal” proxy issued in your name from that record holder.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS URGES YOU NOT TO SIGN ANY [COLOR] PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY BULLDOG. IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUSLY SIGNED A [COLOR] PROXY CARD SENT TO YOU BY BULLDOG, YOU CAN REVOKE IT BY SIGNING, DATING AND MAILING THE ENCLOSED WHITE PROXY CARD IN THE ENVELOPE PROVIDED. ONLY YOUR LATEST DATED PROXY WILL BE COUNTED.

Receipt of Multiple Proxy Cards

Many of our stockholders hold their shares in more than one account and may receive separate proxy cards or voting instructions forms for each of those accounts. To ensure that all of your shares are represented at the 2015 Annual Meeting, we recommend that you vote every WHITE proxy card you receive.

Additionally, please note that Bulldog has stated its intention to nominate five (5) alternative director nominees for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting and submitted a stockholder advisory proposal relating to the conversion of the Class B Stock into Common Stock. If Bulldog proceeds with its alternative nominations and stockholder advisory proposal to eliminate the dual classes of stock, you may receive proxy solicitation materials from Bulldog, including an opposition proxy statement and a [color] proxy card. Your board of directors unanimously recommends that you disregard and do not return any [color] proxy card you receive from Bulldog.

If you have already voted using Bulldog’s [color] proxy card, you have every right to change your vote and revoke your prior proxy by signing and dating the enclosed WHITE proxy card and returning it in the postage-paid envelope provided or by voting via the Internet or by telephone by following the instructions provided on the enclosed WHITE proxy card. Only the latest dated proxy you submit will be counted. If you withhold your vote on any Bulldog nominee using Bulldog’s [color] proxy card, your vote will not be counted as a vote for the Board’s nominees and will result in the revocation of any previous vote you may have cast on our WHITE proxy card. Accordingly, if you wish to vote pursuant to the recommendation of our Board, you should disregard any proxy card that you receive that is not a WHITE proxy card.

Revocation of Proxies

If you have previously signed a [color] proxy card sent to you by Bulldog, you may change your vote and revoke your prior proxy by signing and dating the enclosed WHITE proxy card and returning it in the postage-paid envelope provided or by voting via the Internet or by telephone by following the instructions on the enclosed WHITE proxy card. Submitting a Bulldog [color] proxy card—even if you withhold your vote on the

Bulldog nominees—will revoke any votes you previously made via our WHITE proxy card. Accordingly, if you wish to vote pursuant to the recommendation of our Board for the election of directors and any other proposals, you should disregard any proxy card that you receive that is not a WHITE proxy card and do not return any [color] proxy card that you may receive from Bulldog, even as a protest vote against Bulldog.

Cost of Solicitation

We will bear the cost of the solicitation of our proxies. In addition to mail and e-mail, proxies may be solicited personally, via the Internet or by telephone or facsimile, by a few of our regular employees without additional compensation. We will reimburse brokers and other persons holding stock in their names, or in the names of nominees, for their expenses for forwarding proxy materials to principals and beneficial owners and obtaining their proxies. As a result of the potential proxy solicitation by Bulldog, we may incur additional costs in connection with our solicitation of proxies. We have hired Innisfree M&A Incorporated (“Innisfree”), 501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10022 to assist us in the solicitation of proxies for a fee of up to $[] plus out-of-pocket expenses. Innisfree expects that approximately [] of its employees will assist in the solicitation. Our expenses related to the solicitation of proxies from stockholders this year will significantly exceed those normally spent for an annual meeting of stockholders. Such costs are expected to aggregate approximately $[]. These additional solicitation costs are expected to include the fee payable to our proxy solicitor; fees of outside counsel and other advisors to advise the Company in connection with a contested solicitation of proxies; increased mailing costs, such as the costs of additional mailings of solicitation material to stockholders, including printing costs, mailing costs and the reimbursement of reasonable expenses of banks, brokerage houses and other agents incurred in forwarding solicitation materials to principals and beneficial owners of our Common Stock, as described above; and possibly the costs of retaining an independent inspector of election. To date, we have incurred approximately $[] of these solicitation costs.

Certain Information Regarding Participants in the Solicitation of Proxies

Under applicable SEC regulations, members of the Company’s board of directors are “participants” and certain executive officers and employees may be deemed to be “participants” in the Company’s solicitation of proxies in connection with the 2015 Annual Meeting. Certain required information regarding these “participants” is set forth in Annex A to this proxy statement referstatement.

Questions

If you have any questions or need assistance in voting your shares, please call Innisfree, the firm assisting us in the solicitation, at 877-825-8772.

BACKGROUND OF THE SOLICITATION

On February 12, 2014, the Company entered into a nomination and standstill agreement with Foundation Onshore Fund, L.P., Foundation Offshore Master Fund, Ltd., Foundation Offshore Fund, Ltd., Foundation Asset Management GP, LLC, Foundation Asset Management, LLC, David Charney, Sky Wilber, Engine Capital, L.P., Engine Jet Capital, L.P., Engine Capital Management, LLC, Engine Investments, LLC, Arnaud Ajdler and Glenn Christenson pertaining to, Stewart Information Services Corporation.among other things, the election of directors to the Company’s Board at the Company’s 2014 annual meeting of stockholders, and the formation of an advisory committee to oversee the Company’s cost-reduction initiatives and review the Company’s operations. Pursuant to the nomination and standstill agreement, the Board nominated Arnaud Ajdler and Glenn Christenson as independent directors at the 2014 annual meeting of stockholders on the Company’s slate and formed an advisory committee of three directors to review the Company’s cost-cutting initiatives. The nomination and standstill agreement terminated pursuant to its terms on February 2, 2015, ten business days before the expiration of the Company’s advance notice deadline for the nomination of directors or submission of proposals at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

On February 6, 2015, Foundation Asset Management, LP (“Foundation”) wrote a letter to current directors Arnaud Ajdler and Glenn C. Christenson inviting both directors to join a possible Foundation slate of nominees for election as directors at the 2015 Annual Meeting. The letter advised Mr. Ajdler and Mr. Christenson that Foundation would not object to their service on both the Company’s and Foundation’s slates for the 2015 Annual Meeting.

On February 5, 2015, Phillip Goldstein of Bulldog requested that the Board extend the deadline for nominating directors to be elected at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

On February 9, 2015, the Board replied to Mr. Goldstein’s request and declined to extend the February 15, 2015 deadline. However, the Board emphasized that it was interested in discussing Mr. Goldstein’s suggestions for the Company and stressed its desire to engage in a constructive dialogue. The Board also noted its belief that a distracting and costly proxy contest is not in the best interests of the Company or its stockholders, especially given the Company’s operational focus on implementing the Board’s cost cutting program and the mandatory Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s mortgage disclosure rule, which goes into effect on August 1, 2015.

In early February, 2015, the Company informed Mr. Ajdler and Mr. Christenson that the Board was inclined to renominate them for election as directors at the 2015 Annual Meeting but was not so inclined if they were also included as nominees on a slate of directors put forth by Foundation. Mr. Ajdler and Mr. Christenson both agreed not to be nominated on any slate of directors that might be put forth by Foundation and have agreed to be renominated on the Company’s slate of directors for the 2015 Annual Meeting.

On February 12, 2015, Mr. Goldstein, General Partner of Bulldog Investors LLC, wrote a letter to the Company on behalf of Opportunity Partners L.P., a fund managed by Bulldog Investors LLC (“Opportunity”), notifying the Company of Opportunity’s intent to nominate James Chadwick, Gerald Hellerman, Richard Latto, Andrew Dakos and Phillip Goldstein for election as directors at the 2015 Annual Meeting. In the letter, Mr. Goldstein also notified the Company of Opportunity’s intent to submit a stockholder advisory proposal relating to the conversion of the Class B Stock into Common Stock. Finally, Mr. Goldstein noted Opportunity’s belief that the best way to maximize stockholder value is via a sale of the Company and indicated that Opportunity was willing to have a substantive discussion with Thomas G. Apel, the Chairman of the Board, and other directors or officers of the Company.

The Company did not receive a nomination notice from Foundation by the February 15th deadline.

On February 16, 2015, Chief Executive Officer Matthew W. Morris Thomas G. Apel, the Company’s Chairman of the Board and Nat Otis, Director of Investor Relations, spoke with Mr. Goldstein regarding his February 12th letter. During such discussion, Mr. Goldstein suggested that the Company institute a $2.50 per share annual dividend.

On February 18, 2015, the Board met to discuss Opportunity’s nomination of a slate of five directors for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting and request for a $2.50 per share dividend.

On February 19, 2015, Mr. Morris Mr. Apel and Mr. Otis spoke with Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Dakos to further discuss the issues raised in Opportunity’s February 12th letter and its request for an increased dividend. Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Dakos focused on the Company’s capital allocation policy, specifically reiterating the request for the institution of a $2.50 per share dividend. Mr. Morris said he would discuss the issue with the Board, and suggested that the Company might be prepared to increase its dividend payment so that the Company’s payout ratio would be consistent with the payout ratios of its peers. Mr. Morris noted certain factors that would prohibit the Company from paying a $2.50 per share dividend and indicated that he would continue discussions with Mr. Goldstein.

On February 23, 2015, the Board met to discuss, among other things, the recent discussions with Mr. Goldstein. At the meeting, Goldman, Sachs & Co., the Company’s financial advisor, presented to the Board an analysis with respect to capital allocation and dividend policy. At the meeting, the Board authorized Mr. Morris to continue settlement discussions with Opportunity and, if such settlement discussions did not result in a resolution, to publicly announce a dividend increase to be paid quarterly beginning in the second quarter of 2015.

On February 23, 2015, Mr. Morris, Mr. Apel, Mr. Otis and John L. Killea, the Company’s Chief Legal Officer, spoke with Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Dakos regarding potential settlement terms. Mr. Morris indicated the Board’s receptiveness to increasing its dividend per share annually, but explained constraints on the Company that prevent it from increasing its annual dividend to $2.50 per share, as Opportunity had previously demanded. Mr. Goldstein and Mr. Dakos requested that the group discuss the Company’s proposal the following day.

On February 24, 2015, Mr. Goldstein, and Mr. Dakos spoke with Mr. Morris, Mr. Apel, Mr. Otis and Mr. Killea regarding the Company’s potential dividend increase and advised the Company that Opportunity intended to proceed with its proxy contest.

On February 25, 2015, the Company issued a press release announcing that it was increasing its cash dividend from $0.10 annually to $1.00 per share annually to be paid quarterly at a rate of $0.25 per share beginning in the second quarter of the year.

On February 26, 2015, Bulldog, on behalf of itself and certain affiliates filed a Schedule 13D publicly announcing its intention to nominate five candidates at the 2015 Annual Meeting and to present a stockholder advisory proposal recommending the Board submit a proposal to stockholders relating to the conversion of the Class B Stock into Common Stock. Bulldog disclosed a collective beneficial ownership of 1,154,289 shares of Common Stock. On this same day, the Company issued a press release relating to, among other things, the Bulldog nomination.

SECURITY OWNERSHIP OF CERTAIN BENEFICIAL OWNERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth information as of March 1, 20132, 2015 with respect to persons we believe to be the beneficial owners of more than 5% of either class of our voting shares:

 

Name

�� 

Title of Class

  Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
  Percent
of
Class
 

Matthew W. Morris

  Class B Common Stock   250,000    23.8  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

Morris Children Heritage Trust

  Class B Common Stock   246,852(1)   23.5  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

Stewart Security Capital LP.

  Class B Common Stock   495,006(2)   47.1  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

  Common Stock   1,553,337(3)   7.7  

Palisades West, Building One

     

6300 Bee Cave Road

     

Austin, Texas 78746

     

BlackRock Inc.

  Common Stock   1,459,396(4)   7.3  

40 East 52nd Street

     

New York, New York 10022

     

Whitebox Advisors, LLC

  Common Stock   1,378,180(5)   6.8  

3033 Excelsior Boulevard

     

Minneapolis, Minnesota 55416

     

Manulife Financial Corporation

  Common Stock   1,289,248(6)   6.4  

200 Bloor Street East

     

Toronto, Ontario, Canada M4W 1E5

     

Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC

  Common Stock   1,283,556(7)   6.4  

101 Huntington Avenue

     

Boston, MA 02199

     

The Vanguard Group

  Common Stock   1,117,054(8)   5.6  

100 Vanguard Blvd.

     

Malvern, PA 19355

     

Name

  

Title of Class

  Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership
  Percent
of
Class
 

Matthew W. Morris

  Class B Common Stock   250,000    23.6  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

Morris Children Heritage Trust

  Class B Common Stock   246,852(1)   23.3  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

Stewart Security Capital LP

  Class B Common Stock   495,006(2)   46.7  

1980 Post Oak Boulevard

     

Houston, Texas 77056

     

BlackRock, Inc.

  Common Stock   1,976,246(3)   8.5  

55 East 52nd Street

     

New York, New York 10055

     

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

  Common Stock   1,778,187(4)   7.6  

Palisades West, Building One

     

6300 Bee Cave Road

     

Austin, Texas 78746

     

Foundation Asset Management, LLC

  Common Stock   1,617,666(5)   6.9  

81 Main Street, Suite 306

     

White Plains, NY 10601

     

Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley LLC

  Common Stock   1,247,332(6)   5.4  

6806 Paragon Place, Suite 300

     

Richmond, Virginia 23230

     

Hirzel Capital Management LLC

  Common Stock   1,223,062(7)   5.2  

3963 Maple Avenue, Suite 170

     

Dallas, Texas 75219

     

Bulldog Investors, LLC

  Common Stock   1,154,289(8)   5.0  

Park 80 West—Plaza Two

     

250 Pehle Avenue, Suite 708

     

Saddle Brook, NJ 07663

     

 

(1)Charles F. Howard is the trustee of the Morris Children Heritage Trust (the “MCH Trust”), established effective December 27, 2012, by Malcolm S. Morris. Both Malcolm S. Morris and Charles F. Howard disclaim beneficial ownership of any securities held by MCH Trust. See additional discussion in the paragraph immediately following the footnotes to this table.
(2)The 2012 Stewart Morris Jr. Family Trust (the “2012 SMJ Trust”) is the general partner of Stewart Security Capital LPL.P. (“SSCLP”). The 2012 SMJ Trust was established effective December 27, 2012 by Stewart Morris Jr. Stewart Morris Sr. is the sole trustee of the 2012 SMJ Trust. Both Stewart Morris Sr. and Stewart Morris Jr. disclaim beneficial ownership of any securities held by SSCLP. See additional discussion in the paragraph immediately following the footnotes to this table.
(3)Dimensional Fund Advisors LPBlackRock, Inc. reported sole voting powerpowers with respect to 1,529,4381,921,637 of such shares and sole dispositive power with respect to all of such shares in its report on Schedule 13G/A filed January 22, 2015.
(4)Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reported sole voting power with respect to 1,716,885 of such shares and sole dispositive power with respect to all of such shares in its report on Schedule 13G filed February 11, 2013.5, 2015. Dimensional is an investment adviser registered under Section 203 of the Investment Advisors Act of 1940 and disclaims beneficial ownership of all securities reported in thissuch schedule.
(4)(5)BlackRock Inc.Foundation Asset Management reported sole voting and dispositive powers with respect to all of such shares in its report on Schedule 13G/A13D filed February 7, 2013.July 3, 2014.

(5)(6)Whitebox Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser,Thompson, Siegel & Walmsley reported sole voting power with respect to 821,557 shares, shared voting power with respect to 425,775 shares, and sole dispositive powerspower with respect to all of such shares in its report on Schedule 13G filed February 13, 2013, which it filed with Whitebox Advisors, LLC, Whitebox Multi-Strategy Advisors, LLC, Whitebox Multi-Strategy Partners, L.P., Whitebox Multi-Strategy Fund, L.P., Whitebox Multi-Strategy Fund, Ltd., Whitebox Concentrated Convertible Arbitrage Advisors, LLC, Whitebox Concentrated Convertible Arbitrage Partners, L.P., Whitebox Concentrated Convertible Arbitrage Fund, L.P., Whitebox Concentrated Convertible Arbitrage Fund, Ltd., Whitebox Long Short Equity Fund, L.P., and HFR RVA Combined Master Trust. These securities include 104,810 shares of the Company’s Common Stock, and 1,273,370 shares of the Company’s Common Stock underlying the Company’s 6.00% Convertible Senior Notes due 2014 held by certain affiliates of Whitebox Advisors, LLC. Whitebox Advisors, LLC disclaims beneficial ownership of such securities except to the extent of its pecuniary interest therein.6, 2015.
(6)(7)Manulife AssetHirzel Capital Management (North America), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation,LLC reported soleshared voting and dispositive power with respect to 5,692all shares in its 13G/A filed February 13, 2015. Hirzel Capital serves as the general partner or managing member of Hirzel Capital Master Fund, LP, a Cayman Islands exempted limited partnership, and as such, may direct the vote and disposition of the 1,233,062 shares owned by the Hirzel Accounts. Zac S. Hirzel, as principal of Hirzel Capital Management LLC, may direct the vote and disposition of all shares owned by the Hirzel Accounts.
(8)Bulldog Investors LLC reported sole voting and dispositive powers with respect to 587,587 of such shares and shared voting and dispositive powers with respect to 566,702 of such shares in its report on Schedule 13G filed on February 13, 2013. Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Manulife Financial Corporation, reported sole voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,283,556 shares in its report on Schedule 13G filed on February 13, 2013. Accordingly, Manulife Financial Corporation, by virtue of its ownership of Manulife Asset Management (North America) and Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC, may be deemed to have beneficial ownership of 1,289,248 shares.
(7)Manulife Asset Management (US) LLC reported sole voting and dispositive power with respect to 1,283,556 shares in its report on schedule 13G filed on February 13, 2013. For additional information see footnote (6) above.
(8)The Vanguard Group reported sole voting power with respect to 24,482 of such shares, sole dispositive power with respect to 1,094,072 shares and shared dispositive power with respect to 22,982 shares in its report on Schedule 13G13D filed February 11, 2013.26, 2015. Such shares include 587,587 that are beneficially owned by the following entities over which Phillip Goldstein, Andrew Dakos and Steven Samuels exercise control: Opportunity Partners L.P., Calapasas West Partners LP, Full Value Special Situations Fund, LP, Full Value Offshore Fund, Ltd., Full Value Partners, LP and MCM Opportunity Partners, L.P. All other shares beneficially owned by Bulldog Investors LLC are also beneficially owned by the clients of Bulldog Investors, LLC.

Our Class B Stockholders are parties to certain agreements requiring, among other things, that the Class B Stockholders maintain a certain balance in their percentage ownership of the shares of Class B Stock. Such agreements also provide for rights of first refusal among the holders with respect to Class B Stock in the event of the death of a holder of Class B Stock, the voluntary or involuntary disposition of Class B Stock and upon certain other specified conditions. In 2012, by agreement among the holders, Malcolm S. Morris transferred 246,852 shares of Class B Stock to MCH Trust, and Stewart Morris, Jr. transferred 495,006 shares of Class B stock to SSCLP. The transfer of shares from Malcolm S. Morris to the MCH Trust and from Stewart Morris, Jr. to SSCLP received the consent of Malcolm S. Morris, Stewart Morris, Jr., and Matthew Morris under pre-existing disclosed agreements expiring March 1, 2020, that prohibit conversion of the Class B shares to Common stock. All holders of Class B Stock have agreed that all such Class B Stock shall remain subject to all the terms of the existing agreements. Malcolm S. Morris, MCH Trust, and Matthew W. Morris collectively own 50% of the Class B Stock, and Stewart Morris, Jr. and SSCLP collectively own 50% of the Class B Stock.

The following table sets forth information as of March 1, 20132, 2015 with respect to each class of our capital stock beneficially owned by our named executive officers, directors and nominees for director, and by all our executive officers, directors and nominees for director as a group:

 

Name

  

Title of Class

  Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership(1)
 Percent
of
Class
   

Title of Class

  Amount and
Nature of
Beneficial
Ownership(1)
 Percent
of
Class
 

Matthew W. Morris

  Common Stock  64,120(2)  *    Common Stock   81,210(2)   *  
  Class B Common Stock  250,000  23.8    Class B Common Stock   250,000    23.8  

J. Allen Berryman

  Common Stock  33,671(3)  *    Common Stock   38,507(3)   *  

Glenn H. Clements

  Common Stock  30,126(4)  *    Common Stock   32,184(4)   *  

Steven M. Lessack

  Common Stock  10,522(5)  *    Common Stock   15,136(5)   *  

Jason R. Nadeau

  Common Stock  19,087(6)  *    Common Stock   25,391(6)   *  

Catherine A. Allen

  Common Stock  14,852  *  

Arnaud Ajdler

  Common Stock   330,942(7)   1.4  

Thomas G. Apel

  Common Stock  18,970  *    Common Stock   22,360    *  

Glenn C. Christenson

  Common Stock   30,963    *  

Robert L. Clarke

  Common Stock  36,029  *    Common Stock   42,563    *  

Paul W. Hobby

  Common Stock  21,567  *    Common Stock   25,997    *  

Dr. E. Douglas Hodo

  Common Stock  24,977  *  

Malcolm S. Morris.

  Common Stock  114,188(7)  *  

Laurie C. Moore

  Common Stock   24,232    *  

Malcolm S. Morris

  Common Stock   87,010(8)   *  
  Class B Common Stock  28,154  2.7    Class B Common Stock   28,154    2.7  

Stewart Morris, Jr.

  Common Stock  107,320(8)  *    Common Stock   73,142(9)   *  
  Class B Common Stock  30,000  2.9    Class B Common Stock   30,000    2.9  

Laurie C. Moore

  Common Stock  20,842  *  

Dr. W. Arthur Porter

  Common Stock  23,248  *    Common Stock   26,638    *  

All executive officers, directors and nominees for director as a group (16 persons)

  Common Stock  567,262  2.8    Common Stock   856,275    3.7  
  Class B Common Stock  308,154  29.3    Class B Common Stock   308,154    29.3  

 

*Less than 1%.
(1)Unless otherwise indicated, the beneficial owner has sole voting and dispositive power with respect to all shares indicated.

(2)Includes 1,600 shares subject to stock options, 35,89438,941 shares of restricted stock, and 479470 shares owned through the Company’s 401(k) plan.
(3)Includes 17,82016,339 shares of restricted stock and 11 shares owned through the Company’s 401(k) plan.
(4)Includes 6,000 shares subject to stock options, and 15,21818,079 shares of restricted stock.
(5)Includes 10,51211,432 shares of restricted stock.
(6)Includes 18,07718,923 shares of restricted stock.
(7)Includes 14,000Mr. Ajdler is the managing member of Engine Investments, LLC, the general partner of each of Engine Capital, L.P. and Engine Jet Capital, L.P., and may be deemed to be the beneficial owner of the 328,979 shares owned in the aggregate by Engine Capital L.P. and Engine Jet Capital, L.P. Mr. Ajdler disclaims beneficial ownership of restricted stock.such shares except to the extent of his pecuniary interest therein.
(8)Includes 14,0006,000 shares of restricted stock and 78,104 shares held indirectly through trust.
(9)Includes 6,000 shares of restricted stock.

The mailing address of each director and executive officer shown in the table above is c/oin care of Stewart Information Services Corporation, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056.

Section 16(a) Beneficial Ownership Reporting Compliance

Each of our directors and certain officers are required to report to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), by a specified date, his or her transactions related to our Common Stock or our Class B Stock. Based solely on a review of the copies of reports furnished to us or written representations that no other reports were required, we believe that all filing requirements applicable to our executive officers, directors and greater-than 10% beneficial owners were met during 2012, except as follows: Matthew Morris failed to timely three reports covering four transactions, Allen Berryman failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions, Malcolm S. Morris failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions, Stewart Morris, Jr. failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions, Michael Skalka failed to timely file one report covering one transaction, Jason R. Nadeau failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions, George L. Houghton failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions, and Glenn H. Clements failed to timely file two reports covering two transactions.2014.

PROPOSAL NO. 1

ELECTION OF DIRECTORS

At our annual meeting, our stockholders will elect nine directors, constituting the entire board of directors. Our Common Stockholders are entitled to elect five directors, and our Class B Stockholders are entitled to elect four directors. The Chairman of the board of directors is elected by the boardBoard following the annual meeting of stockholders. Our Class B Stockholders are entitled to nominate and elect the person to serve as Chairman of the board of directors.

Common Stockholders’ Nominees

The following persons have been nominated by the board of directors to be elected as directors by our Common Stockholders. The persons named in your proxy intend to vote the proxy for the election of each of these nominees, unless you specify otherwise. Although we do not believe that any of these nominees will become unavailable, if one or more should become unavailable before the meeting, your proxy will be voted for another nominee, or other nominees, selected by our board of directors.

 

Nominee, Age and Position with Stewart

  Director Since 

Dr. E. Douglas Hodo, 78, Chairman of the Board of Directors

1988

Catherine A. Allen, 66,Arnaud Ajdler, 40, Director

   20092014

Glenn C. Christenson, 65, Director

2014  

Robert L. Clarke, 70,72, Director

   2004  

Laurie C. Moore, dbaaka Laurie Moore-Moore,,67, 69, Director

   2004  

Dr. W. Arthur Porter, 71,73, Director

   1993  

Each of the five nominees for election by ourthe Common Stockholders was elected by the Common Stockholders at our 20122014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Dr. HodoMr. Arnaud Ajdler has served as the managing partner of Engine Capital L.P., a value-oriented investment firm focused on companies going through changes, since February 2013. He was previously a partner at Crescendo Partners, a value-oriented activist investment firm, from 2005 to 2013. Mr. Ajdler is also an adjunct professor of Value Investing at the Columbia Business School. He also serves as Chairman of the board of directors. Dr. Hodo served as President of Houston Baptist University for more than 19 years and became President Emeritus of the University in 2006. Dr. Hodo served on the board of directors of U.S. Global Investors, a public mutual fund, from 1981 to 2006, including holding the positions of Chair of the Audit Committee from 1991 to 2004 and Chairman of the board of directors of Destination Maternity, Inc.

Mr. Ajdler served as a director of Charming Shoppes, Inc. from 19992008 until June 2012; O’Charley’s Inc. from March 2012 until April 2012; and The Topps Company from August 2006 until October 2007. Mr. Ajdler received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering from the Free University of Brussels, Belgium, a Master of Science (SM) in Aeronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Qualifications : Mr. Ajdler’s significant experience in value-oriented investing offers focused knowledge of businesses and their fundamentals, providing insight on elements that will strengthen the intrinsic value of the Company’s stock. His participation on boards in the retail, restaurant and consumer-goods industries provides further expertise in management and consumer-facing activities.

Mr. Glenn C. Christenson has been managing director of Velstand Investments, LLC, a private investment management company, since 2004. Between 1989 and 2007, Mr. Christenson held various positions, including Director, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Administrative Officer, and Executive Vice President as well as other management roles at Station Casinos, Inc., (now Station Casinos LLC), a gaming entertainment company. Prior to 2004. that, Mr. Christenson was a partner of Deloitte Haskins & Sells (now Deloitte & Touche LLP) from 1983-1989, with duties as partner-in-charge of Audit Services for the Nevada Practice and National Audit Partner for the Hospitality Industry.

He served onas a director of NV Energy from 2007-2013, where he served as Chairman of the board of directors of Southern National Bank of Sugar Land, Texas, from 1995 to 2000,Audit Committee and wasas a member of its Audit Committee during that tenure. Dr. Hodo also served on the board of directors of Security Bank of Amory, Mississippi, from 1994 to 2003Compensation and on their Audit and Long-Range Planningother Committees.

Ms. Allenserves as Chair of the Technology Advisory Committee. Ms. Allen is currently serving as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Santa Fe Group, a strategic consulting company that serves the financial sector in the areas of payments, fraud, information security and regulatory reform. Until 2007, Ms. Allen served as founding Chief Executive Officer of BITS, a consortium of the 100 largest financial services companies in the United States, which led the industry in developing best practices and strategies for the industry in fraud prevention, cybersecurity, business continuity, anti-terrorism, payments and e-commerce. Ms. Allen is Mr. Christenson was a director of El Paso Electric Company, serving on its Compensation, External Affairs and Energy and Natural Resources Committees. Ms. Allen is also a director at SynovusFirst American Financial Corporation serving on its Riskfrom 2008 until 2011, where he served as Chairman of the Audit Committee. He served as director of Tropicana Entertainment, Inc. during 2010. Mr. Christenson is a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”) and Nominationholds an undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Wittenberg University and Governance Committees. In addition, she is onMaster of Business Administration in Finance from The Ohio State University.

Qualifications: Mr. Christenson’s distinguished career as a CPA and range of roles in financial management provide in-depth understanding of practices and procedures regarding the advisory board of Houlihan LokeyCompany’s financial and risk management interests. His significant experience and honors in the gaming, hospitality and energy industries offer a number of nonprofit boards.unique business perspective to advancing the Company.

Mr. Robert L. Clarke serves as Chair of the Audit Committee. Mr. Clarke has beenHe is a partnerSenior Partner in the Houston office of the law firm Bracewell & Giuliani, LLP, for more thanwhere he founded the past five years.law firm’s national and international financial services practice. Mr. Clarke was appointed as U.S. Comptroller of the Currency by President Ronald Reagan in 1985, and served until 1992 under Presidents Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He has extensive experience in bank ownership and operation, and expert knowledge of banking laws, regulations and supervision, both in the U.S. and internationally.

Mr. Clarke has served as a consultant to the World Bank, and senior advisor to the President of the National Bank of Poland. He also serves as a director and member of the Audit Committeeand Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees of the boardsboard of Eagle Materials Inc., a NYSE-listed manufacturer of building materials, and asmaterials. He is a director, Chair of the Risk Committee, and member of the Investment Committee for Mutual of Omaha Insurance Company. He is also a director of Community Bancshares of New Mexico, Inc. and Community Bank in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and a director of the Dubai Financial Services Authority. Mr. Clarke has served as U.S. Comptrollera Trustee of Rice University from which he received its Distinguished Alumnus award, and continues to serve as a Trustee Emeritus and member of its Audit and Public Affairs Committees. Additionally, Mr. Clarke is a Trustee of the CurrencySanta Fe Chamber Music Festival and its supporting Foundation, an Advisory Trustee of the Museum of New Mexico Foundation, a Trustee of the Financial Services Volunteer Corps, and a Trustee of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling. He received a Bachelor of Arts in economics from December 1985 through February 1992.Rice University, and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School.

Qualifications: Mr. Clarke is a veteran attorney and banking professional with extensive experience in legal, regulatory and corporate governance matters. His tenure in the U.S. government, along with his in-depth knowledge of banking and finance, provide valued expertise to the Company.

Ms. Laurie C. Mooreserves as Chair of the Compensation Committee. Ms. MooreShe is the founding Chief Executive OfficerFounder and President of the Institute for Luxury Home Marketing, an international training and membership organization targeting real estate agents who work in the luxury residential market (the “Institute”).market. For the 12 years prior to founding the Institute in 2003, Ms. Moore was Managing Partner of RealREAL Trends, Inc., a publishing, research, and strategic consulting company serving brokerage company owners and the top management of national real estate franchise brands. She

With nearly 40 years in the real estate space, Ms. Moore has been an industrya featured speaker for more than 25 years. In the area of governance, she has presented at events, including the 2014 ISS Annual Client Conference, the 2013 Harvard Law School Roundtable on Executive Compensation, and the 2015 and 2012 NYSE Compensation Boot Camps. She isearned a National Association of Corporate Directors Board Fellow.Fellow designation in 2012; in the same year, she was also chosen as one of five top Texas businesswomen by the Texas Women’s Chamber of Commerce. As Executive Director of two residential brokerage CEO groups, she gained financial experience through more than 10 years of supervising the preparation of combined financial summaries for Chief Executive Officer peer review for dozens of major real estate firms.

Qualifications: As a founder of three businesses serving the residential brokerage industry, Ms. Moore’s experience provides keen insight on the Company’s customer base, particularly REALTORS® and affluent

consumers. She also has a deep understanding of the industry’s structure and is familiar with its major players. Ms. Moore brings a pragmatic and strategic approach to business challenges, and is valuable in assessing the expertise, knowledge and experience of potential director nominees.

Dr. W. Arthur Porterserves as Chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Dr.Mr. Porter is President of Quantum, Inc., an education and technology consulting company. He has been a Professor Emeritus of engineering at the University of Oklahoma since 2007; before his retirement, he was a University Professor and Regents Chair of Engineering. He recently served as Associate Dean, College of Natural Science, at Thethe University of Texas at Austin,(UT), Research Professor, and Acting Director and Department Chair of the University of TexasUT Marine Science Institute from 2011 to 2012. Prior to his retirement from the University of Oklahoma, he served as University Professor and Regents Chair of Engineering at that university. From 1998 to 2006, he served as University of Oklahoma Vice President for Technology Development, and also served as Dean of the College of Engineering from 1998 to 2005.

Prior to those appointments, he had served asDr. Porter was Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of Houston Advanced Research Center, a nonprofit research consortium, for more than five years.from 1985 to 1998. He also served aswas an Adjunct Professor of Electrical Engineeringelectrical engineering at Rice University for more than five years, priorand served in a range of educational and directorial capacities at universities in the U.S. and worldwide. Dr. Porter served as the Chairman of the board of directors for Southwest Nanotechnology from 2003 to his appointment with2008, and has been a member of numerous technology and banking boards. He holds a Bachelor of Science and Master of Science in Physics from the University of Oklahoma.North Texas, and a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Engineering from Texas A&M University.

Qualifications: Dr. Porter has extensive knowledge and experience in technology, strategic planning, executive management and intellectual property matters. He also has extensive experience in IPOs on both foreign and domestic exchanges, as well as M&A activity. His long-term management experience and participation in various boards of directors were instrumental in the Company’s recent reorganization, making him a key asset to continued growth and development.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTEFOR THE ELECTION OF THE FIVE NOMINEES FOR DIRECTOR.

Class B Common Stockholders’ Nominees

The following persons have been nominated as directors to be elected by our Class B Stockholders. The persons named in the Class B Stockholders’ proxies intend to vote the proxies for the election of the nominees named below, unless otherwise specified. Although we do not believe that any of these nominees will become unavailable, if one or more should become unavailable before the meeting, proxies will be voted for another nominee, or other nominees, selected by the Class B Stockholders.

 

Nominee, Age and Position with Stewart

  Director Since 

Thomas G. Apel, 52,54, Director

   2009  

Paul W. Hobby, 52,Frank Keating, 71, Director

   19892014  

Malcolm S. Morris, 66,68, Director and Vice Chairman

   2000  

Stewart Morris, Jr., 64,66, Director and Vice Chairman

   2000  

Each of these nomineesThomas G. Apel, Gov. Frank Keating, Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. was elected as director by our Class B Stockholders at our 20122014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Mr. ApelThomas G. Ape currently serves asl is the Chairman of the board of directors. He is Chief Executive Officer of VLN, Inc., a non-conforming mortgage lending operation located in Edmond, Oklahoma. He is also a research affiliate with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, currently focused on business model taxonomy and IT portfolio strategies. From 2006 until January 1, 2013, heMr. Apel was President of Intrepid Ideas Inc., a product development, technology evaluation and business strategy consulting firm for financial services and real estate finance companies.

Prior to 2006, he served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Centex Title and Ancillary Services, and was responsible for management, strategy development and implementation of a highly profitable business unit containing national title, escrow, title insurance and property and casualty insurance operations. His background also includes extensive experience in mortgage lending and related real estate lending operations.

Qualifications:Mr. Apel has significant knowledge and experience in the mortgage, title, insurance and technology industries, as well as in corporate management, strategy, finance and start-up businesses. His familiarity with mortgage and other real estate lending provides a useful perspective on one of the Company’s essential customer segments.

Mr. HobbyGov. Frank Keatingis founding ChairmanPresident and CEO of Genesis Park, L.P., a Houston-based private equity business specializingthe American Bankers Association. He was previously President and CEO of the American Council of Life Insurers. From 1995 to 2003, he served as Governor of the State of Oklahoma, the second person to hold the office for two consecutive terms. As Governor, he was recognized for his compassionate, professional handling of the Murrah Federal Building bombing in energy technologyOklahoma City, after which he raised over $6 million for the education of children whose parents were killed in the tragedy.

Gov. Keating’s career has included time as an FBI agent, U.S. Attorney, State Prosecutor, and communications investments.member of Oklahoma’s state House and Senate. He served from 2004 through 2011 asin the Chief Executive Officer of Alpheus Communications, Inc.federal Treasury, Justice and Housing departments under Presidents Reagan and George Bush, Sr., a Texas wholesale telecommunications provider,with responsibility for federal prosecutions and from 2002 to 2006, as Chairman of CapRock Services, Inc.,oversight over the largest provider of satellite services to

the global energy business. Mr. Hobby previously served on the boards ofSecret Service, U.S. Customs, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Attorneys and several publicly traded companies and currently serves on the board of NRG Energy, Inc. Mr. Hobby is Chairmanother agencies. As Assistant Secretary of the Houston BranchTreasury and General Counsel and Acting Deputy Secretary of the Federal ReserveU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), he worked on issues including housing finance, lending practices, securitization and Bank Secrecy Act issues.

Gov. Keating is a graduate of Dallas, Chairman-electGeorgetown University and the University of Oklahoma College of Law, and the Greater Houston Partnership,recipient of six honorary degrees. He is a frequent commentator on national news programs, and is a member of the Texas Ethics Commission.boards of the National Archives, the Jamestown Foundation and the Bipartisan Policy Center.

Qualifications: Gov. Keating’s lengthy public service career provides a depth of knowledge in government, legal, banking, directorial and infrastructure matters. With the numerous fiscal concerns facing the world economy and the housing industry in particular, he draws on considerable experience to advise the Board on Company interests.

Mr. Malcolm S. Morrishas served as is a Vice Chairman of the Company, since November 2011,previously Chairman of the board of directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer from 2000 until November 2011, and Senior Executive Vice President—President��Assistant Chairman for more than five years prior to that time. Malcolm S. Morris has2000. He is also served for more than the past five years as Chairman of the board of Stewart Title Guaranty Company.

His personal experience as a Company employee spans more than four decades, including responsibility for financial stability and efficiency improvements. He is the first cousin of Vice Chairman Stewart Morris, Jr. and father of Company Chief Executive Officer and Advisory Director Matthew W. Morris.

Mr. Malcolm Morris has more than 40 years of experience in the title insurance industry, and has served as President of the Texas Land Title Association and the American Land Title Association. He is a member and fellow of the American Bar Association and the Houston Bar Association, and a member of the State Bar of Texas. Mr. Malcolm Morris has a Master of Business Administration with a focus on finance and banking, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Texas. He also attended the Harvard Law School’s Program of Instruction for Lawyers.

Qualifications: As a member of the Company’s founding family, with more than 40 years of tenure, Mr. Malcolm Morris has intimate knowledge of the Company’s operations, legal and regulatory matters, history and culture. His highly respected leadership and involvement in title industry organizations and advocacy are essential to the Company’s position as a leader in the market.

Stewart Morris, Jr. is a Vice Chairman of the Company, since November 2011 and, prior to that, aspreviously President and Co-Chief Executive Officer from 2000 until November 2011. StewartMr. Morris, Jr. has also served as Presidentpresident and Chief Executive Officerchief executive officer of Stewart Title Company, and Chairmanchairman or Senior Chairmansenior chairman of the board of Stewart Title Guaranty Company, since 1991. He has been a Company employee for more than 40 years, and has been responsible for the development of a number of real estate services and technology solutions, including productivity, e-commerce and settlement, related lender services, automated land record systems, courthouse automation and international land registries. He is the first cousin of Vice Chairman Malcolm S. Morris.

Mr. Morris, Jr. is a director of the American Land Title Association, and received the October Research 2012 Joe Casa Award in recognition of his leadership in industry innovation. In 2012, Mr. Morris, Jr. was named one of the 100 most influential real estate leaders by Inman News. With his in-depth knowledge of real estate transactions and affiliated technology, Mr. Morris, Jr. speaks frequently at industry conferences, universities and other forums. Mr. Morris, Jr. is chairman of the Oldham Little Foundation, which gives approximately 100 grants per year to small churches worldwide. For the past ten years, Mr. Morris, Jr. has served as chairman of the Carriage Museum of America, and currently serves as treasurer. He has a Bachelor of Arts in economics and political science from Rice University, and a Master of Business Administration with a focus on finance and real estate from the University of Texas.

Qualifications: As a member of the Company’s founding family, with more than 40 years of tenure, Mr. Morris, Jr. has intimate knowledge of the Company’s operations, technology interests, expansion strategy, management, history and culture. His significant expertise in real estate information technology and the transaction process has been key to the Company’s market leadership.

Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. are first cousins. Matthew W. Morris is the son of Malcolm S. Morris.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE

Board of Directors

We are managed by a board of directors comprised of nine members, five of whom are elected by our Common Stockholders and four of whom are elected by our Class B Stockholders. A majority of the members of the board of directors are “independent” within the meaning of the listing standards of the NYSE. TheseAssuming the election of the 2015 director slate set described above, these directors are: E. Douglas Hodo, Chairman of the board of directors, Catherine A. Allen, Thomas G. Apel, Gov. Frank Keating, Glenn C. Christenson, Arnaud Ajdler, Robert L. Clarke, Laurie C. Moore and Dr. W. Arthur Porter. The board of directors has determined that none of these directors has any material relationship with us or our management that would impair the independence of their judgment in carrying out their responsibilities to us. In making this determination, the board of directors considers any transaction, or series of similar transactions, or any currently proposed transaction, or series of similar transactions, between us or any of our subsidiaries and a director to be material if the amount involved exceeds $120,000, exclusive of directors’ fees, in any of our last three fiscal years.

The roles of Chairman of the board of directors and Chief Executive Officer are separate and each role is held by a different individual. The Chairman of the board of directors is elected by the boardBoard following the annual meeting of stockholders. Our Class B Stockholders are entitled to nominate the person to serve as Chairman of the board of directors. As discussed below, Dr. Hodothe Chairman also presides over the regular and any special meetings of our non-management directors. Our non-management directors meet prior to each regularly scheduled board meeting.

All of our directors shall be elected at the annual meeting of stockholders and hold office until the next annual election or until his or her successor shall be electedchosen and shall be qualified, or until his or her death or the effective date of his or her resignation or removal for cause. The act of six of the directors shall be the act of the board of directors except as may be otherwise specifically provided by statute, by the Certificate of Incorporation, or by the Company’s Amended and Restated By-Laws.

In 2014, the Company adopted a majority voting standard which raised the standard for election to the board of directors such that votes cast for such director must exceed the votes cast against such director in an uncontested election. In connection with the majority voting standard, the board of directors at the same time approved a guideline requiring the resignation of a director who fails to receive a majority vote in an uncontested election. Under the new 2014 By-Law, in a contested election (i.e., where the Secretary of the Corporation determines that the number of nominees exceeds the number of directors to be elected as of the date seven days prior to the scheduled mailing date of the proxy statement for such annual meeting of stockholders), the plurality voting standard would still apply. Because Bulldog has advised the Company of its intention to nominate five alternative director nominees for election at the 2015 Annual Meeting, the standard for election of directors to the Board at the 2015 Annual Meeting will be a plurality vote if Bulldog proceeds with nominating five alternative director nominees. During 2012,2014, the board of directors held five4 regular meetings, two6 special meetings, one retreat, and executed three14 consents in lieu of meetings. Each directorAll directors attended eachall of such meetings, except that at two of such regular meetings only eight ofthree directors each missed one meeting. For 2015, the nine directors were in attendance. The board of directors haswill have an Executive Committee, an Audit Committee, a Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, a Compensation Committee and a Technologyan Advisory Committee.Committee on Cost Management. See “Committees of the Board of Directors” below.

The board of directors has adopted theStewart Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, Guidelines on Corporate GovernanceandCode of Ethics for Chief Executive Officers, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer, each of which is available on our website atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governanceand in print to any stockholder who requests it. We intend to disclose any amendment to or waiver under ourCode of Ethics for Chief Executive Officers, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officerby posting such information on our website. OurGuidelines on Corporate Governanceand the charters of the Audit Committee, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Compensation

Committee, and the Executive Committee require an annual self-evaluation of the performance of the board of directors and of such committees, including the adequacy of such guidelines and charters. The charters of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Audit Committee, and the Compensation Committee, the Executive Committee and the Advisory Committee on Cost Management are available on our website atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governanceand in print to any stockholder who requests them. OurGuidelines on Corporate Governancestrongly encourages attendance in person by our directors at our annual meetings of stockholders. All of our directors attended our 20122014 annual meeting of stockholders.

Director Qualifications

Each of our directors is an individual of high character and integrity, with an inquiring mind, and works well with other members of the board of directors and our management team.others. Each director nominee brings a unique background and set of skills to the board, giving the board of directors, as a whole, competence and experience in

a wide variety of areas, including insurance, real estate, technology, strategic planning, corporate governance, executive management, accounting, finance, government and international business. The following is a discussion of the particular experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of each of our director nominees that are considered important by the board of directors.

Catherine A. Allen.Ms. Allen has extensive knowledge and experience in technology, financial services and public policy, as well as significant corporate management experience. Her company, The Santa Fe Group, and former employer, BITS, are responsible for developing industry best practices in risk management. She also has experience in establishing best practices and standards for information security and fraud prevention, and has extensive experience and contacts in the regulatory environment at a federal and New Mexico state level.

Thomas G. Apel.Mr. Apel has significant knowledge of and experience in both the mortgage and title industries. Mr. Apel also has extensive experience in technology and start-up businesses.

Robert L. Clarke.Mr. Clarke has extensive experience in business, government, banking, and legal and regulatory matters.

Paul W. Hobby.Mr. Hobby has extensive experience in private equity and mergers and acquisitions, as well as significant experience in public affairs.

Dr. E. Douglas Hodo.Dr. Hodo has extensive experience in administration and finance matters. He has a Ph.D. in economics and finance with over 30 years’ experience in financial risk assessment and analysis as both a consultant and professor.

Laurie C. Moore.Ms. Moore has a broad understanding of the real estate business developed during a more than 35-year career in the industry. She brings to the board strategic marketing skills, honed as an industry researcher and consultant to top management, and has experience as a founder and top executive of three successful businesses serving the residential brokerage industry. As Executive Director of two residential brokerage Chief Executive Officer groups, she gained functional financial experience, including more than 10 years supervising and coordinating preparation of combined financial summaries for 12 major firms in the real estate industry for Chief Executive Officer peer review. Ms. Moore is invaluable in assessing the subject matter expertise, knowledge, background and experience of potential director nominees. She is a National Association of Corporate Directors Board Fellow.

Malcolm S. Morris.Malcolm S. Morris has over 40 years of experience in the title insurance industry and has served as President of the Texas Land Title Association and the American Land Title Association. Having worked for the Company for over four decades, he has intimate knowledge of the Company and its legal and regulatory matters. He has a J.D. and a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on finance and banking.

Stewart Morris, Jr.Stewart Morris, Jr. has over 40 years of experience in the title insurance industry and has intimate knowledge of the Company. Stewart Morris, Jr. is also an expert in real estate information technology, including technologies related to productivity, e-commerce and settlement services, and has led the Company’s expansion into related lender services, automated land record systems, courthouse automation and international land registries. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree. in economics and political science from Rice University and a Masters of Business Administration with a focus on finance and real estate from The University of Texas.

Dr. W. Arthur Porter.Dr. Porter has extensive knowledge and experience in technology and intellectual property matters. Dr. Porter also has significant administrative and board experience and, as Chair of our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, was instrumental in the Company’s recent reorganization.

For additional information regarding the qualifications, background and experience of our director nominees, please see each nominee’s biographical information under Proposal“Proposal No. 1.1”.

Risk Oversight

The board of directors has ultimate responsibility for protecting stockholder value. Among other things, the board of directors is responsible for understanding the risks to which we are exposed, approving management’s strategy to manage these risks, and monitoring and measuring management’s performance in implementing the strategy. The board of directors works with its committees and management to effectively implement its risk oversight role.

The Audit Committee, with the assistance of management, oversees the risks associated with the integrity of our financial statements, our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and our liquidity requirements and other exposures to financial risk. The Audit Committee reviews with management, independent auditors and internal auditors (the internal audit function has been outsourced to Deloitte & Touche LLP) the accounting policies, the system of internal controls and the quality and appropriateness of disclosure and content in the financial statements or other external financial communications. The Audit Committee, with the assistance of our legal department and human resources department, also performs oversight of our various conduct and ethics programs and policies, including theStewart Code of Business Conduct and Ethics, reviews these programs and policies to assure compliance with applicable laws and regulations, and monitors the results of our compliance efforts. To the extent the Audit Committee identifies any material risks or related issues, the risks or issues are addressed with the full board of directors.

The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, with the assistance of management, oversees risks associated with administering ourGuidelines on Corporate Governanceand is responsible for reviewing and making recommendations for selection of nominees for election as directors by Common Stockholders. To the extent the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee identifies any material risks or related issues, the risks or issues are addressed with the full board of directors.

The Compensation Committee, with the assistance of management, oversees risks associated with our compensation programs and policies. To the extent the Compensation Committee identifies any material risks or related issues, the risks or issues are addressed with the full board of directors.

The Technology Advisory Committee, with the assistance of management, oversees risks associated with matters relating to information security, IT controls, business continuity, disaster recovery and other risk-management activities. To the extent the Technology Advisory Committee identifies any material risks or related issues, the risks or issues are addressed with the full board of directors.

Advisory Directors

In addition to the directors elected by our Common Stockholders and Class B Stockholders, from time to time our board of directors appoints advisory directors. These individuals are selected based on their potential as future candidates for our board of directors. This gives potential director candidates the opportunity to learn

firsthand about the Company and provides a bench of candidates who have gone through the learning curve regarding the Company, its products, policies and business practices. If elected, they are ready to fully engage as directors. Governor Frank Keating, President and CEO of the American Bankers Association, and Matthew W. Morris, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), currently serve as advisory directors. Our advisory directors receive notice of and regularly attend meetings of our board of directors and committees on which they serve as non-voting members. They provide valuable insights and information, but are not included in quorum and voting determinations. Non-employee advisory directors receive the same compensation for their services as our elected directors receive. Employee advisory directors do not receive any pay as an advisory director (see Footnote 1, Page 38).director. All advisory directors attend meetings at the pleasure of the board.Board. Paul W. Hobby, founding Chairman of Genesis Park, L.P., and Matthew W. Morris, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”), currently serve as advisory directors.

Committees of the Board of Directors

TheFor 2015, the board of directors of the Company haswill have the following committees: Executive, Audit, Nominating and Corporate Governance, Compensation and Technology Advisory.Advisory Committee on Cost Management.

Executive Committee.The Executive Committee may exercise all of the powers of the board of directors, except those specifically reserved to the board of directors by law, by resolution of the board of directors, or by the Executive Committee Charter. The Executive Committee currently consists of Thomas G. Apel (Chair), Glenn C. Christenson, Robert L. Clarke, Paul W. Hobby, Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. During 2012,2014, the Executive Committee held five3 meetings, at which all members were present, except that one director missed one meeting, and executed thirteen13 consents in lieu of meetings. The Executive Committee operates under a charter adopted by our board of directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance.

Audit Committee.It is the Audit Committee’s duty to assist the board of directors in fulfilling its oversight responsibility of (i) the integrity of the financial statements of the Company, (ii) the independent auditors’ qualifications, independence, and performance, (iii) the Company’s system of controls over financial reporting, performance of its internal audit function, independent auditors, and compliance with ethical standards adopted by the Company, and (iv) the compliance by the Company with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee has sole authority to appoint or replace our independent auditors. The Audit Committee has the authority to engage independent counsel and other advisers as it determines necessary to carry out its duties. The Audit Committee operates under a written charter adopted by our board of directors, a copy of which is available on our website atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance. The Audit Committee currently consists of Robert L. Clarke (Chair), Thomas G. Apel, and Laurie C. Moore.Moore, and Glenn C. Christenson. During 2012,2014, the Audit Committee held eight8 regular meetings, at which all members were present, except that attwo members each missed one of such regular meetings only two of the three directors were in attendance.meeting. Each of the members of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined under the listing standards of the NYSE and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the board of directors has determined that Mr. Clarke is an “audit committee financial expert” as defined in the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.SEC. No member of our Audit Committee serves on the audit committees of more than three public companies.

The Audit Committee has established procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints received by us regarding accounting, internal accounting controls and auditing matters, and the confidential, anonymous submission by our employees of concerns regarding questionable accounting or auditing matters. Persons wishing to communicate with the Audit Committee may do so by writing in care of Chairman, Audit Committee, Stewart Information Services Corporation, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056.

Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee.It is the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s duty to:to (i) identify individuals who may become boardBoard members or advisory directors, (ii) select or recommend director nominees for the next annual shareholder meeting of stockholders, (iii) develop and recommend to the board of directors a set of corporate governance principles applicable to the Company, (iv) provide oversight of the Company’s corporate governance, and (v) oversee the evaluation of the board of directors and management. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee currently consists of Dr. W. Arthur Porter (Chair),

LaurieC. Moore, and Laurie C. Moore,Arnaud Ajdler, each of whom is “independent” as that term is defined in the listing standards of the NYSE. Governor Frank Keating, as an advisory director, also participates in meetings of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee held four regular and four special6 meetings during 2012,2014, at which all members were present. Our Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee’s charter is available on our website atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance.

OurGuidelines on Corporate Governancerequire that a majority of the nine members of our board of directors be “independent” as that term is defined in the rules of the NYSE. As described above, a majority of our current board of directors is “independent” under the filing standards of the NYSE. OurIn considering candidates for election as independent directors, ourGuidelines on Corporate Governancealso provide that the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee shall be guided by the following principles:

 

Each director should be an individual of the highest character and integrity and have an inquiring mind, experience at a strategic or policy-setting level, or otherwise possess a high level of specialized expertise, and the ability to work well with others. Specialized expertise orknowledge and experience that will augment board effectiveness and support the boardgrowth of directors’ expertise is particularly desirable.the Company.

Each director should have sufficient time available to devote to our affairs to carry out the responsibilities of a director and, absent special circumstances approved by the Board, no director should simultaneously serve on the boards of directors of more than three public companies. Directors are qualified for service on the board of directors only if they are able to make a commitment to prepare for and attend on a regular basis meetings of the board of directors and its committees.

 

Each independent director should be free of any significant conflict of interest that would interfere with the independence and proper performance of the responsibilities of a director. Directors to be nominated for election by our Common Stockholders should not be chosen as representatives of a constituent group or organization; rather each should utilize his or her unique experience and background to represent and act in the best interests of all stockholders as a group.

 

Directors should have equity ownership in the Company.

The board of directors does not have a formal policy with respect to boardBoard nominee diversity. In recommending proposed nominees to the full board,Board, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is charged with building and maintaining a boardBoard that has an ideal mix of talent and experience to achieve our business objectives in the current environment. In particular, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee is focused on relevant subject matter expertise, depth of knowledge in key areas that are important to us, and diversity of thought, background, perspective and experience so as to facilitate robust debate and broad thinking on strategies and tactics pursued by us. There are no minimum requirements for nomination.

In recent years, vacancies occurring in our board of directors have been filled by advisory directors whose experience and expertise have contributed significantly to the deliberations of the board of directors and who meet the criteria set forth above.

Each director is required to own an amount of Company Common Stock equal to a multiple of three times the director’s annual retainer. Each director has five years, from the later of their initial election and March 2011, to acquire the required amount of Common Stock. Stock ownership requirements have been designed in such a way that the ability of the board of directors to recruit diverse board candidates will not be impaired, yet boardBoard members will have a strong alignment with stockholders.stockholders’ interests.

Pursuant to our Amended and Restated By-Laws, the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee will accept and consider nominations by stockholders of persons for election by our Common Stockholders to our board of directors. To be considered for nomination at our 20142016 annual meeting of stockholders, stockholder nominations must be received by us no later than February 15, 2014.2016. Persons wishing to submit the names of candidates for consideration by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee may submit such

nominations in writing addressed to the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee in care of Corporate Secretary, Stewart Information Services Corporation, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056. Any such submission should include the candidate’s name, credentials, contact information and consent to be considered as a candidate.

Compensation Committee.It is the duty of the Compensation Committee to assist the board of directors in discharging its responsibilities relating to the Company’s compensation policies, the compensation of the Company’s officers and senior managers, and to produce the required report on executive compensation for inclusion in the Company’s annual proxy statement. The Compensation Committee currently consists of Laurie C. Moore (Chair), Catherine A. Allen and Dr. W. Arthur Porter. GovernorPorter, Gov. Frank Keating, as an advisory director, also participates in meetings of the Compensation Committee.and Arnaud Ajdler. During 2012,2014, the Compensation Committee held four regular meetings and six special11 meetings, at which all members were present, except that only two directors were present at two of the meetings, and executed two2 consents in lieu of meetings.meeting. Our board of directors has determined that each member of our Compensation Committee is “independent” as that term is defined in the rules of the NYSE.

The Compensation Committee functions pursuant to its charter, which is available on our web site atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance. The Compensation Committee’s specific duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

EstablishEstablishing and monitormonitoring the basic philosophy and policies governing the compensation of executive officers, senior managers, and officers of the Company who are also serving as members of the board of directors.

 

Make compensationReviewing recommendations submitted by the CEO, then approving and submitting to the board of directorsBoard for formal ratification any decisions with respect to the compensation for executive officers senior managers, and officers of the Companycompany who also are also serving as members of the board of directors. These recommendations may include base pay, incentive compensation plans, perquisites, and equity-based plans and relevant metrics and target award levels.

 

RecommendApproving and submitting to the Board for formal ratification compensation decisions with respect to the compensation plan of the CEO.

Recommending a pay-for-performance based CEO compensation plan to the board of directors and oversee administration of the plan, including evaluating the CEO’s performance in light of the goals under the plan.

 

ReviewReviewing and approveapproving employment agreements, severance agreements and change in control agreements with the executive officers and any officers of the Company who are also serving as members of the board of directors.

 

Make recommendations to the board of directors for its approval with respect to non-CEO executive officer compensation, including incentive compensation and equity-based plans.

ReviewReviewing the overall compensation structure and programs for all employees (including a review of any risks to the Company that may arise from such structure or programs).

 

AdministerApproving the equity-based compensation plans which have been (or may be) adopted byof the Company.

 

ReviewReviewing and discussdiscussing with management the disclosures in this proxy statement’s Compensation Discussion and Analysis (the “CD&A”), makemaking a recommendation to the board of directors regarding the inclusion of the CD&A in this proxy statement, and produceproducing a Compensation Committee Report for inclusion in the Company’s proxy statement, each in accordance with the requirements of the SecuritiesSEC.

The Compensation Committee has the sole authority to retain and Exchange Commission.terminate any independent compensation consultant. The Compensation Committee is responsible for determining the independence of its advisors by taking into consideration all factors relevant to advisor independence, including the factors set forth in the NYSE Listed Company Manual. The Compensation Committee has authority to direct the work of the compensation consultants and establish the consultant’s fees. It may also obtain advice and assistance from other advisors it determines necessary for effective completion of its duties. The Company is required to fund (i) the Compensation Committee’s approved expenses for any independent advisors employed by the Compensation Committee and (ii) any other reasonable expenses incurred by the Compensation Committee.

Technology Advisory Committee. It is the Technology Advisory Committee’s duty to review, evaluate, monitor and provide feedback on technology-related matters, including assisting the board of directors and management in identifying risks and emerging trends in technology that may present strategic opportunities or that can help the Company achieve its goals and priorities. The Technology Advisory Committee currentlyon Cost Management. The duty of the Advisory Committee on Cost Management is to oversee our cost savings initiatives and help determine if additional cost savings are obtainable. The Advisory Committee on Cost Management consists of Catherine A. Allen (Chair), Thomas G. Apel Stewart Morris, Jr.(Chair), Dr. W. Arthur PorterGlenn Christenson and Paul W. Hobby. During 2012, the Technology Advisory Committee met three times, at which all members were present.Robert L. Clarke.

Compensation Committee Interlocks and Insider Participation

None of the current or former members of the Compensation Committee is a former or current officer or employee of the Company or any of its subsidiaries, is involved in a relationship requiring disclosure as an interlocking executive officer/director, or had any relationship requiring disclosure under Item 404 of Regulation S-K.

Sessions of Non-ManagementIndependent Directors

Our non-managementindependent directors all of whom are independent, with the exception of Paul W. Hobby, meet at regularly scheduled sessions without management. Dr. HodoThe Chairman of the Board presides at those sessions. Persons wishing to communicate with our non-management directors may do so by writing in care of Chairman, Audit Committee, Stewart Information Services Corporation, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056. Persons wishing to communicate with our other directors may do so by writing in care of Corporate Secretary, Stewart Information Services Corporation, at the same address.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth the names and positions of our executive officers as of March 1, 2013:2, 2015:

 

Matthew W. Morris

  Chief Executive Officer

J. Allen Berryman

  Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer

John L. Killea

  Chief Legal Officer

Glenn H. Clements

  Group President, Direct Operations

George L. HoughtonPatrick Beall

  Group President, Agency Operations

Steven M. Lessack

  Group President, International Operations

Jason R. Nadeau

  Group President, Mortgage and Title Services

Below is biographical information for our executive officers:

Matthew W. Morris.Matthew W. Morris, 4143 years old, was elected Chief Executive Officer of the Company in November of 2011. Having served for the prior five years as Senior Executive Vice President of the Company, Stewart Title Company and Stewart Title Guaranty Company, in addition to serving as President of the Shared Services Division, Mr. Morris has an intimate knowledge of the Company. He provides leadership over all of the Company’s businesses, focusing on operational alignment, process efficiencies, smart growth and maximum stockholder value. In 2004, Mr. Morris joined the Company’s executive management team as Senior Vice President, Planning & Development. Previously, he was director of a strategic litigation consulting firm, offering trial and settlement sciences and crisis management. Mr. Morris received hisa Bachelor of Business Administration in Organizational Behaviororganizational behavior and Business Policybusiness policy from Southern Methodist University, and his MBAa Master in Business Administration with a concentration in Financefinance from The University of Texas. In 2013, he was named a gold winner for Executive of the Year (large company category) in the Best in Biz awards, and recognized as an industry leader in the Swanepoel Power 200. Matthew W. Morris is the son of Malcolm S. Morris. Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. are first cousins.

Patrick Beall.Patrick H. Beall, 58 years old, has been with the Company for more than 28 years. Mr. Beall currently serves as Group President, Agency Operations, and is responsible for the Company’s independent title agency network across the United States. In addition, he oversees Stewart Vacation Ownership and technology sales for our independent agency network. Mr. Beall served as Executive Vice President, Senior Director of Agency Operations from January 2014 through December 2014. From December 2008 until December 2013, Mr. Beall was the South Central States District Manager for Agency Operations, with direct and indirect responsibility for the Company’s independent agency network in 22 states. Mr. Beall has served as President of two affiliated entities, Professional Real Estate Tax Service and Baca Landata, since joining the Company in 1986. He is currently a member of the Texas Land Title Association (TLTA) and serves on the association’s finance committee; he is also a former member of the Oklahoma Land Title Association’s Board of Directors. He attended the University of Oklahoma in Norman.

J. Allen Berryman.J. Allen Berryman, 5557 years old, has served as Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer of the Company since September 2008. From January 2006 through August 2008, Mr. Berryman served as Vice President—Finance of Contract Research Solutions, Inc., d/b/a Cetero Research, one of the world’s largest providers of early clinical trial and bio-analytical laboratory services to pharmaceutical, biotechnology and geneticgeneric drug companies. From 2002 through 2005, Mr. Berryman was Chief Financial Officer ofPrior to joining Cetero Research, he spent nine years in the electronic payments industry, holding CFO and COO positions with Retriever Payment Systems a nationwide providerand TeleCheck International, and serving as Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer of credit, debit and other card processing services to merchants.First Data Corporation. Mr. Berryman also has 12 years’ experience with the public accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Berryman received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountingaccounting from the University of Georgia.Georgia, and is a CPA.

Glenn H. Clements.Glenn H. Clements, 6567 years old, has been with the Company for more than 3540 years and has extensive experience in the title insurance and real estate industries. As Group President, Direct

Operations for Stewart Title Guaranty Company a(“STGC”) and Stewart Title Company, both wholly owned subsidiarysubsidiaries of the Company, Mr. Clements is responsible for all domestic directly owneddirectly-owned agency offices in the Stewart Title network. In this position, heHe oversees all residential and commercial operations, including escrow closings, sales and production facilities. Mr. Clements is on the board of the Houston Chapter of the World Presidents Organizationfacilities, as well as Stewart Specialty Insurance Services, Relocation Services offices, and the Houston YMCA.

George L. Houghton.George L. Houghton, 56 years old, has over 37 years of title insurance industry experience. Currently, Mr. Houghton serves as Group President, Agency Operations for Stewart Title Guaranty Company and is responsible for Stewart’s independent title agency network across the United States. Prior to becoming Group President, Mr. Houghton was Executive Vice President, Agency Services Group for Stewart Title Guaranty Company from 2009 through 2011. Mr. Houghton also served as Senior Vice President and National Agency Services Director from 2005 through 2008, and District Agency Manager for South and West Texas from 2000 through 2004. Prior to joining Stewart, Mr. Houghton was the president and owner of an independent title agency in the Houston area. Mr. Houghton graduated from the University of Houston with1031 exchange company, Asset Preservation, Inc. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1981, and went on to earn a Master of Business Administration studies from Houston Baptistthe University in 1983.of Houston.

John L. Killea.John L. Killea, 5759 years old, is the chief legal officerChief Legal Officer of the Company. Mr. Killea is responsible for the underwriting, claims, litigation, compliance and regulatory areas for SISCO and its affiliated companies. With more than 3133 years of legal experience, Mr. Killea joined the Company in 2000 as counsel in the claims and agency underwriting areas for Stewart Title Insurance Company (“STIC”), the Company’s New York underwriter.

He has served as chief claims counselChief Claims Counsel and general counselGeneral Counsel for STIC, and continues to serve as general counselGeneral Counsel for Stewart Title Guaranty Company (“STGC”) since his appointment in 2008. Mr. Killea holds a Bachelor’s degree cum laude from Lafayette College and a Juris Doctorate from Fordham University School of Law. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and has been admitted to practice in the State of New York and the United States District Court for both the Eastern and Southern Districts of New York.

Steven M. Lessack.Steven M. Lessack, 6062 years old, has been with the Company for almost 20 years. Prior to joining Stewart, he was an independent agentis President of STGC Canada, and Chief Executive Officer of Stewart Title Insurance Company with offices throughout upstate New York.Limited, overseeing the Company’s business activities in the United Kingdom, Europe and Australia. In 1996, he opened up the Canadian operation for STGC. Mr. Lessack is the President of STGC Canada, which has become the backbone/foundation of all our international operations.Stewart Title Guaranty Company. With his more than 35 years of title insurance and related real estate knowledge, he nowalso holds the position of Group President, International Operations. In this position, Mr. LessackOperations, where he is responsible for and oversees all of our title operations outside of the United States, in addition to the Company’s expansion activities worldwide. In addition to Canada, the Company presently has operations in Mexico, Central & South America, the Caribbean, Australia and throughout Europe. Prior to joining Stewart, he was an independent agent of Stewart Title Insurance Company with offices throughout upstate New York. He attended California State University in San Bernadino.

Jason R. Nadeau. Jason R. Nadeau, 4244 years old, is Group President, Mortgage and Title Services for the Company. Mr. Nadeau joined the CompanyHe is responsible for leading and developing comprehensive national mortgage and title services in 2008, and for the past four years has served as the executive overseeingsupport of the lender, servicer and mortgage services business lines.investor customers. Additionally, Mr. Nadeau oversees the Company’s national title production centersStewart Lender Services, Stewart Government Services and its real estate technology services company.Stewart Centralized Title Services. Mr. Nadeau previously served as senior vice president of First American’s Enterprise Technology. From 1999 to 2006, Mr. Nadeau servedTechnology, and as president of RealEC® Technologies, a company he helped found. Previous to his tenure at RealEC® Technologies, Mr. Nadeau served as vice president of technology for Stewart Mortgage Information now known as(now Stewart Lender Services. Mr. Nadeau started his careerServices), and in various capacities at Norwest Mortgage, now Wells Fargo.Fargo®. Mr. Nadeau graduated from the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, with a Bachelor’s degree in business finance and a minor in systems analysis and design.

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

Introduction

The following Compensation Discussion and Analysis (“CD&A”), describes the Company’s executive compensation program as redesigned in 2012.2014. The objective of our executive compensation program is to maintain a strong pay-for-performance culture in order to attract, retain, and motivate the key leaders who serve our Company and our stockholders. The following pages explain the process, objectives, and structure of the executive compensation decisions undertaken by our Compensation Committee and our board of directors for 2012.2014. This CD&A is intended to be read in conjunction with the tables beginning on page 31XX below, which provide detailed historical compensation information for our Named Executive Officers (“NEOs”). For 2012,2014, our NEOs are:

 

NameNEO

 

Title

Matthew W. Morris

 Chief Executive Officer

J. Allen Berryman

 Chief Financial Officer

Glenn H. Clements

 Group President, Direct Operations

Jason R. Nadeau

 Group President, Mortgage and Title Services

Steven M. Lessack

 Group President, International Operations

Executive Summary

I.Executive Summary

Fiscal 2012 was a year of thoughtful redesign of the Company’s executive compensation policies and programs. The previous year ended with the appointment of a new CEO, election of an outside Director as Chairman of the Board, the hiring of a new Human Resources executive, and the selection of both a new Compensation Committee chairman and a compensation consulting firm — all of whom wereWe are committed to providing value to our stockholders. While we acknowledge the task of redesigningstrong support for our compensation programs expressed in our 2014 Say on Pay Vote, we continued to dedicate significant efforts to ensuring our executive compensation policies, plans,programs evolve with our long-term business strategy, feedback from our stockholders, and practices to respond to shareholder concernsmarket best-practices. We are confident that the discussion below makes it clear that we maintain an executive compensation program that aligns the interests of our executives with those of our stockholders.

2014 Business Highlights and Performance

Since its inception in 1893, Stewart has grown to be further alignedone of the largest title insurance companies in the nation, and one whose name is synonymous with good governance, while allowing ustrust, integrity, and service. In April 2014, we were recognized by Forbes® as one of the 50 Most Trustworthy Financial Companies in America. The rankings, determined by proprietary ratings provider and investment advisor, GMI Ratings, recognize 50 financial and banking companies of more than 8,000 publicly-traded, North American companies analyzed.

We have generated significant growth in stockholder value, with athree-year total return to maintain and motivate our key leaders. These major changesstockholders of 224%, which is at the end94th percentile of 2011 were followed byour peer group.

2014 was a significant restructuringvery active year for us, as we completed year three of our five-year strategic plan. We remain on target with the strategic objectives we communicated to our stockholders, customers, and associates at the outset of the Company resulting in new, expanded responsibilitiesplan, and we believe completion of its remaining elements will position us well for another century of success. Of note for the senior executive team as 2012 began.

Developing and Implementing Changes in the Compensation Philosophy, Policy and Planyear were:

 

Our first stepworld-wide commercial revenues in developing2014 were $170.7 million. Our U.S. and Canadian commercial revenues were $155.9 million, a new compensation plan for executives13.4 percent increase over 2013, and the highest since 2007, which was establishing a new executive compensation philosophy which targets base pay at or nearone of the marketplace median, includes short term incentives to encourage the achievement of defined financial and operational metrics, and provides long term incentives that align executive and shareholder goals and encourage long term Company success. Our goal was a clear stated philosophy that would serve as the spring board for the creation of a strong pay-for-performance culture with heightened board oversight.best commercial years ever historically.

 

Another important step was entering into new employment agreementsTitle losses as a percentage of title revenues declined to 4.7 percent from 5.9 percent; during the third quarter we were successful in recovering a portion of a large loss incurred in prior years. Excluding the effect of that recovery, title losses were 5.6 percent, the lowest title loss rate since 2005. Cash claims payments declined 12.3 percent.

In keeping with senior executives, includingour strategic plan, we completed several acquisitions in our Mortgage and Title services segment that significantly enhance our competitiveness in providing services all along the NEOs, effective January 1, 2012. This required renegotiating some existing agreementscontinuum of mortgage origination, servicing, and support, as well as greatly expanding our capability to provide for consistency across all executive agreements, to incorporate market competitive terms and corporate governance best practices, and to eliminate what some investors consider to be problematic or excessive features. This renegotiation of existing agreements, some of which were long term, resulted in the payment of one time transition payments to certain NEOs as an incentive to give up income and benefits guaranteed under the prior employment agreements, accept new agreements with more shareholder friendly terms, and assume new job responsibilities.centralized title services.

 

Our annual short term incentive planIn response to new regulations and newly defined business processes, plus extensive new transaction documentation requirements, all of which is mandated by the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau (“STI”CFPB”) was redesigned to create, we mounted a strong connection between corporatemajor implementation program which has involved thousands of executive man hours and operational performance and the potential cash awards to be madeincreased costs. Due to our NEOs. Clear quantitative metrics were established for measuring performance. The Compensation Committee believes thatteam’s extraordinary effort, we are on-track to meet the link between specific, measured performance and compensation is a primary driverimplementation deadline beginning August of

our stock price over time. For 2012, the Company achieved its STI Plan (as defined below) objective in three of three performance categories, which after review, resulted in STI Plan awards of 141% to 200% of target opportunities.

Our long term incentive plan was redesigned for 2012 to connect vesting events for each type of long term incentive award to predetermined relative Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) performance against the peer group and the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index. For 2012, we granted target amounts of performance-based restricted stock awards and cash based performance units ranging in value from $200,000 to $500,000 based on an evaluation of market-competitive long-term incentive award levels for NEOs in our peer group. Clearly defined, quantifiable measures of performance are the keystone of our long-term incentive plan. 2015.

 

Senior executive base salaries were also adjustedLargely as a result of the acquisitions, our Mortgage and Title services segment revenues increased 59.1 percent to $194.0 million. As of year-end 2014, Mortgage Services had achieved in 2012excess of $5 million of annualized savings through integration of the acquisitions, and all are on track to reflect expanded job responsibilities, general market trends, andproduce pretax profit margins in the newly designed pay-for-performance compensation program. These base salaries are expected to remainmid-teens in the same in 2013.second half of 2015.

 

The implementationAs of year-end 2014, we had achieved in excess of $10 million of annualized savings pursuant to the new pay-for-performance compensationcost management program was accomplished in Houston’s competitive job market where thereannounced during the first quarter of 2014. We are more than 5000 energy-related businesses enjoying a strong energy market, hiring, and paying top dollar for executive talent. While these firms are notconfident of achieving our peers, they do have an impact upongoal of $25 million of annualized savings by the business environment in which we must hire, compensate, retain and motivate employees.end of 2015.

 

The tasks still underway include extendingDuring the compensation philosophy and practicesfourth quarter of 2014, the remaining $27.2 million of senior convertible notes converted into approximately 2.1 million shares of common stock pursuant to lower levelsthe terms of management and aligning all compensation practices going forward. To better match job responsibilities with compensation levels, Human Resources has worked to ensure that job titles and job descriptions are consistent across the Company.underlying indenture. As of year-end 2014, our debt-to-equity ratio was less than 10 percent, well below the 20 percent we have set as our internal limit of leverage.

 

We began our share repurchase program earlier than expected and, in 2014, acquired $22.0 million of shares towards our goal of $70.0 million of share repurchases by year-end 2015.

CEO Pay At-A-Glance

The comprehensive reviewvast majority of CEO pay is variable and revisionlinked to drivers of Companyfinancial performance or growth in stockholder value. The chart below shows the elements of CEO total direct compensation including benefit programs,(base salary, annual bonus, and grant date or target value of annual equity grants) for the past three years.

As shown, roughly 60% to 70% of CEO compensation every year has been variable. Our annual short-term incentive plan (“STI) is tied to annual operational and financial performance, while our long-term incentive plan (“LTI”) is tied to long-term financial and stock price performance. In 2014, we also resultedadded a one-time performance share challenge award, the Key Employee Equity Plan (the “KEEPs” award), which is tied to significant accomplishments in several changesgrowing Earnings Per Share (“EPS”) with a threshold minimum of $5 per share in fiscal 2016. The KEEPs award is not reflected in the vendors providing benefits. These benefits related changes resulted in immediate annual savings of approximately $2.3 million.

Timing of the New Plan Creation and Implementation

The process of designing the new compensation plan required the joint efforts of our compensation consultant, CEO, Human Resources staff and the Compensation Committee. While this process began at the end of 2011, it was ongoing through much of 2012. This was largely due to the need to negotiate new agreements that replaced existing agreements for some NEOs. The new plan is now fully in effect.

Key Standards Governing Our Compensation Practices

The Company strives to maintain good governance standards in our performance-based compensation practices. They include:following table.

 

No Significant Perquisites or Gross-ups on Perquisites Offered. Our executives receive limited perquisite benefits.

LOGO

Double Trigger Change in Control Protection in Employment Agreements. All employment agreements and incentive award agreements for NEOs and other senior executives require a termination of employment in addition to a change in control of the Company before cash severance benefits are triggered.

No Excise Tax Gross-Ups. Existing employment agreements do not provide excise tax gross-up protection.

No Supplemental Executive Retirement Programs (“SERPs”) Offered. We do not offer SERPs to our current executives.

Percent of Variable and Performance-Based Pay. Variable pay comprises between 51% and 65% of total targeted annual compensation (as described below) for our NEOs, with the majority of variable pay coming in long-term incentives.

Strong Clawback Rights. Our long-term incentive plans have clawback provisions that include recapture rights for any incentive amount paid or vested in the event that the Compensation Committee determines a NEO has violated any of the restrictive covenants included in employment agreements.

Independence of Executive Compensation Consultant. The Compensation Committee’s compensation consultant, Aon Hewett, is independent. Aon Hewett does not provide any other executive compensation-related services to management and had no prior relationship business or personal with any of our executive officers or Compensation Committee members.

Ongoing Succession Planning. The Compensation Committee engaged in in-depth discussions regarding succession planning and talent development of our executives. This is a continuing focus of the Compensation Committee.

While we understand that generally the Compensation Committee has the final wordResponse to 2014 “Say on executive pay, based on the broad extent of the changes to the philosophy, policies,Pay” Vote and specifics of the compensation plan which the Compensation Committee implemented in 2012, the Compensation Committee agreed that the redesigned compensation policies and structure be recommended to the board of directors for review and approval before implementation.

Summary of Key Financial and Strategic Performance HighlightsProgram Changes

2012 was a turnaround year for the Company on many fronts. Driven largely by key strategic initiatives and organizational changes, the Company delivered very positive financial results for 2012. Not only did these initiatives and changes deliver profits, but our streamlined management team was ableSimilar to capitalize on2013, an improving real estate market. The Company continued an emphasis on profitable growth, cost effectiveness, and prudent risk management in addition to its commitment to a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy.

Key Strategic and Financial Results for 2012:

Profitable and Scalable Operations

Our pretax earnings of $89.3 million were the highest since 2006’s $84.5 million, a year in which revenues were 29.4% greater than in 2012 which resulted in a higher pre-tax margin.

The Company’s title segment’s pretax margin jumped from 6.0% in 2011 to 8.6% in 2012.

The Agency Operation’s premium received per independent agency increased over 23% in 2012 vs. 2011.

Cash provided by operations improved substantially for 2012 to $120.5 million vs. $23.4 million in 2011.

Simplification and Alignment

The management team was reorganized along delivery and customer channels.

The Company exited many minority owned positions through acquisitions and divestitures.

Strategic Pricing

The Company reviewed premium pricing in 31 states and implemented changes in 14 states.

The Company’s average premium rate increased 1.8% from 2011.

Our focus for 2013 will be on increasing non-premium fees and charges.

Claims Reduction and Risk Avoidance Initiatives

The loss ratio on the current policy year declined from 6.3% in 2011 to 5.8% in 2012. The portion of our total loss ratio attributable to prior policy years declined from 3.2% in 2011 to 2.3% in 2012.

The loss ratio on our current independent agency base was less than one-third of 2008’s rate.

Cash claim payments in 2012 decreased 7.7% compared to 2011.

Losses incurred on known claims in 2012 decreased 12.2% compared to 2011.

Smart Growth

Revenues generated from non-title operations from mortgage servicing support products increased 45% in 2012 over 2011.

New servicing support projects introduced by the Mortgage Services segment helped drive the increase in revenues with no deterioration of Mortgage Service’s pretax margins.

II.Response to 2012 Say on Pay Vote

Working to Meet Shareholder Expectations

An overwhelming majority of the votes cast on our 20122014 Say on Pay proposal (the “2012 Say on Pay Vote”) were cast in favor of the proposal. Specifically, 97.7%97.8% of shares were voted in favor of our Say on Pay proposal. Based on the resultsThe Compensation Committee interprets this strong level of support as affirmation of the 2012 Say on Pay Vote, as well asoverall structure of our ongoing dialogueprogram and our approach to making compensation decisions. As our business continues to evolve, we are committed to the continuous improvement of our program to ensure alignment with our stockholders,business priorities, leadership strategy and stockholder interests. To this end, we made the Compensation Committee andfollowing enhancements to our board of directors have concluded that the executive compensation design changes that were first disclosed in 2011 and implementedprogram for 2012 are consistent with stockholder expectations and are properly aligned with the Company’s new compensation philosophy and objectives.2014:

 

III.

Compensation Decision ProcessElement of Program

Change

Rationale

Short-term Incentive Plan

•       Replaced Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) measure with Pretax Profit Margin

•       Provide a more direct link to our annual business plans in support of our strategy and a stronger alignment to shareholder value

Long-term Incentive Plan

•       Added time-based restricted shares as 1/3 of the total LTI mix

•       Replaced EBITDA performance shares with EPS performance shares

•       Change from a mix of cash and equity to 100% equity-based awards

•       Enhance competitiveness and consistency with peer group practice

•       Increase retention value in support of our talent strategy

•       Eliminate overlap between LTI and STI performance measures

•       Provide a more direct link to shareholder value and stronger alignment of our NEOs with our shareholders

KEEPs Award

•       Added a one-time special challenge performance share award tied to achievement of a significant increase in EPS performance in fiscal 2016

•       Create an enhanced incentive to deliver on our strategic plan, based upon EPS performance well beyond what is included in our normal annual equity awards

Our Executive Compensation Committee’s Philosophy on Named Executive Officer CompensationPractices

Prior to 2012,Below we highlight our core executive compensation practices, both the practices we have implemented to drive performance, and the practices we have not implemented because we do not believe they would serve our stockholders’ interests.

What We DoWhat We Don’t Do

þ

Performance-based short- and long-term compensationxNo share recycling under the long-term incentive plan

þ

Heavy emphasis on variable (“at-risk”) payxNo excise tax gross-ups upon change in control

þ

“Double trigger” vesting of cash severance paymentsxNo repricing of underwater stock options

þ

Clawback policyxNo hedging transactions or short sales by executive officers or directors permitted

þ

Equity ownership guidelinesxNo guaranteed bonus or retention bonus for executive officers

þ

Independent compensation consultantxSeverance multipliers not greater than 3.0x for any executive officer

þ

Regular review of share utilizationxNo significant perquisites

What Guides Our Program

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

The Compensation Committee follows a “pay-for-performance” philosophy forin our executive officers was based on fairness and internal pay equity, and not on targeting pay levels at a specified percentile of a compensation peer group. This compensation philosophy was intended to maintain associate satisfaction and morale by assuring that the compensation of executive officers was not out of line with that of key employees and other associates. While fairness and internal pay equity are still part of the Company’s overall compensation philosophy, for 2012 and going forward, the Company has strengthened its compensation philosophy by adding significant pay-for-performance criteria.

While our compensation program for executive officersstructure, which is still designed to deliver a full spectrum of pay, benefits, career development and a positive work environment around corporate performance, the Company now also seeks to maximize the return from our investment with a compensation program to include performance-based, at-risk pay components aligned to strategic and financial performance metrics. Pay elements are specifically designed to encourage and reward the achievement of our long-term goals, our short-term goals that help drive long-term results, and ultimately the creation of shareholderstockholder value. For each NEO,executive, the pay-for-performance compensation package is also intended to represent a fair and competitive compensation arrangement that promotes a meaningful work experience including personal fulfillment, competitive pay, and job security.

The Compensation Committee’s ongoing goalCommittee believes that our executive compensation program should reward enhanced financial performance of the Company and maximize stockholder value by aligning the short-term and long-term interests of our executive officers with those of our stockholders. Our Company’s programs are intended to:

Attract, retain, and motivate individuals of outstanding ability in key executive positions;

Drive and reward strong business performance, which is aligned with company strategies, to maintain acreate superior value for our stockholders;

Ensure that performance-based compensation programdoes not encourage excessive risk taking; and

Encourage our executives to focus on both the short- and long-term performance goals of the Company.

Our executive compensation also is intended to be market competitive. For 2014, the Committee approved base salary, short-term incentive compensation and long-term incentive compensation (together, “total direct compensation”) for each executive. Total direct compensation is intended to be competitive with our peer group, with a directional target of the peer group median. The Compensation Committee also takes into consideration historical and individual circumstances, including tenure and experience, individual performance, retention factors, and the availability of comparable data for each position.

The Compensation Committee believes that promotesa majority of executive compensation should be “at-risk” with the realized value of compensation heavily dependent upon the Company’s long-term successfinancial, operational and provides long-term value creationstockholder return performance. During periods when our financial performance meets or exceeds established objectives, we believe that executives should be rewarded appropriately for their efforts in achieving our stockholders.goals. Likewise, when our performance does not meet the established goals, incentive compensation may be reduced or may not be earned.

It is important to note that in comparing past pay for 2010 and 2011 with pay for 2012 in the executive compensation tables that follow this CD&A, 2012Incentive compensation is significantly more performance based relativedesigned to previous years.

help achieve the appropriate balance between annual results and sustained multi-year success of the Company. Short-term awards primarily are payable in cash, while long-term awards are equity-based awards.

Implementing the Philosophy

In support of our compensation philosophy:

 

The Company targets baseWe generally target pay compensation opportunities for the NEOs atlevels to be within the median range for our peer group in order to provide each of those companiesour NEO’s with a competitive compensation opportunity that we consideris also reasonable from a stockholder perspective. Our NEOs then have the opportunity to be valid peers, whileearn realized compensation in excess of the median in return for meeting or exceeding performance goals.

Base salary levels for our NEOs are established after taking into consideration bothaccount external market rates, executive performance, internal equity, and pay trends over time compared to the trend in Company performance as measured by TSR.

Short termShort-term incentive design is focused on pay-for-performance and will plan opportunities are designed to motivate our NEOsNEO’s to achieve key annual objective measures of financial performance, operating performance, and operating performance.key individual and Company-wide strategic goals. Consistent with our philosophy, short term incentiveSTI awards are tied to specific metrics designed to drive annual improvement and operational excellence.

 

Long termLong-term incentive plan grants motivate our NEOsNEO’s to enhance shareholderstockholder value as well asand to work as a team to ensure Company performance. The Company’s choice of long term incentive vehiclesOur LTI program is designed to align NEOsNEO interests with those of shareholders,stockholders through the use of equity-based awards, multi-year vesting, and equity grants consistpre-established performance conditions. Our NEOs are further aligned with stockholders through our share ownership guidelines, and our LTI awards help ensure that our executives will meet those guideline levels of performance-based vesting conditions. Consistent with our overall compensation philosophy, long term incentive grant values are targeted to the median of our peers, reward accomplishment of long term quantifiable business goals, and aid NEOs in the achievement of applicable stock ownership guidelines.ownership. 

AllOur executive compensation programs will also reflect sound corporate governance marketplace best practices, and will be based on solid business rationale. The following table outlines the major elements of 2014 total direct compensation for our executives:

Roles

Element of ProgramChangeRationale

Short-term Incentive Plan

•     Replaced Total Shareholder Return (“TSR”) measure with Pretax Profit Margin

•     Provide a more direct link to our strategy and a stronger alignment to stockholder value

Long-term Incentive Plan

•     Added time-based restricted shares as 1/3 of the total LTI mix

•     Enhance competitiveness and consistency with peer group practice

•     Replaced EBITDA performance shares with EPS performance shares

•     Increase retention value in support of our talent strategy

•     Change from a mix of cash and equity to 100% equity-based awards

•     Eliminate overlap between LTI and STI performance measures

•     Provide a more direct link to stockholder value and stronger alignment of our NEOs with our stockholders

KEEPs Award

•     Added a one-time special Performance Share Award (“PSA”) tied to achievement of a significant increase in EPS performance in fiscal 2016

•     Create an enhanced incentive to deliver on our strategic plan, based upon EPS performance well beyond what is included in our normal annual equity awards

Our executives are also eligible for other benefits and limited perquisites that are in Determining 2012 Named Executive Officer Compensationline with market practice, as well as health and welfare benefits that are the same as our general employee population.

Pay Mix

The core principle of our executive compensation philosophy is to pay for performance. Accordingly, our executive compensation program is heavily weighted toward “at-risk” performance-based compensation. We have three elements of target total direct compensation: base salary, STI target opportunity and LTI target opportunity. As illustrated in the chart below, in 2014, 73% of target total direct compensation to our CEO was variable and at risk, while 61% of NEO compensation was at-risk. The following charts of our target total direct compensation does not include our one-time aggressive KEEPs award, which is discussed in greater detail under “Elements of NEO Compensation for 2014.” The KEEPs challenge award is tied to growing EPS to a threshold of $5 per share in 2016. Shares immediately vest on December 31, 2016 if performance is met.

2014 Target Total Direct Compensation

CEO

Other NEOs

LOGO

LOGO

The Role of the Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee oversees the executive compensation program. The Compensation Committee is comprised solely of independent, non-employee members of the Board of Directors. Details of the Compensation Committee’s authority and responsibilities are specified in its Charter, which is available online (http://www.stewart.com/content/dam/stewart/investor-relations/pdfs/Charter.Comp.2013.pdf).

The Compensation Committee is responsible for determining the components and amount of compensation for our executive officers and provides overall guidance for our employee compensation policies and programs. The Compensation Committee consults with the CEO for compensation recommendations for other executive officers and for the purpose of assuring that executive compensation programs do not distort our overall compensation structure. The CEO’s recommendations are based upon his assessment of each executive officer’s performance, the performance of the individual’s respective business or function, and employee retention considerations. The Compensation Committee reviews our CEO’s recommendations and approves, in its sole discretion, any compensation changes affecting our executive officers as it determines in its sole discretion.officers.

The Role of Management

Members of management, including the Human Resources, staff, assist the Compensation Committee by providing recommendations that management believes will establish appropriate and market-competitive compensation plans for executive officers consistent with the Company’s compensation philosophy. As part of this process, management collaborates with the Compensation Committee regarding the information provided on market

trends, potential compensation plan designs, and industry trends, before making recommendations to the Compensation Committee. In preparation for the 20122014 compensation plans, management:

 

Recommended base salaries and cash and incentive targets for senior executives other than the CEO; and

 

Proposed incentive metrics and targeted performance levels for the short- and long-term incentive plans, including target value (or number of shares) of performance-based restricted stock and cash-based performance units.

At the end of the 20122014 performance year, management reviewed metric basedmetric-based performance relative to expectations in 20122014 of each NEOexecutive other than the CEO, for the purpose of validating 2012 short-term incentivethe 2014 STI and LTI awards.

The Compensation Committee reviews and discusses management’s recommendations in conjunction with its independent compensation consultant inwhen making compensation decisions or recommendations to the full board of directors. The CEO’s compensation is discussed in executive session without members of management present.Board.

The Role of the Compensation Consultant

During 2012,For the 2014 plan year, the Compensation Committee engaged Aon Hewitt as its compensation advisorLongnecker & Associates (“L&A”) to provide independent advice on executive compensation matters and to assist in making recommendations to the board of directors. During 2012, Aon Hewitt assisted the Compensation Committee in providing a comprehensive assessment of ourits executive compensation programs and assisted with the design of the new short- and long-term incentive plans.programs. The Compensation Committee retained the sole authority to select, retain, terminate, and approve fees and other retention terms of the relationship with Aon Hewitt.L&A.

In additionThe Compensation Consultant provides various executive compensation services to their performancethe Compensation Committee. Generally, these services include advising the Compensation Committee on the principles of our executive compensation program and providing market information and analysis regarding the competitiveness of our program design and award values in relation to performance.

During 2014, the Compensation Consultant performed the following services for the Compensation Committee, in 2012, management used Aon Hewitt to provide additional services toCommittee:

Conducted an evaluation of the Company that were unrelated to executivetotal compensation including human resource consulting and services in respect to employee benefit insurance products, such as group life, medical and long term disability, which were offered to employees. Aon Hewitt’s fees for these additional services totaled approximately $185,417 in 2012. We have separate relationships with each of the service teams providing these non-executivenamed executive officers (conducted in late 2013 for 2014);

Conducted an evaluation of the total compensation consulting services,of other executives of the Company; (conducted in late 2013 for 2014);

Provided independent recommendations for CEO compensation;

Provided the CEO with recommendations for the compensation of other executive officers;

Provided independent recommendations on incentive plan metrics; and relationships with AON Hewitt’s service teams are overseen by different management employees. The compensation consultant’s service team that advises

Reviewed and provided independent recommendations on the annual and long-term incentive plans.

In addition, L&A attended meetings of the Compensation Committee, does not receive any compensation based on any other workas requested by the Compensation Committee Chair.

The NYSE has adopted guidelines for Compensation Committees to consider when identifying Compensation Committee advisor independence. The Compensation Committee reviewed these guidelines and determined that Aon Hewitt performsL&A was an independent consultant under these guidelines. This independence was confirmed in writing by L&A. L&A performed no services for the Company other than those specific to Board Committee assignments regarding executive and non-employee director compensation.

Our management communicated with L&A and provided data to L&A regarding our executive officers, but did not direct L&A’s activities.

In December 2014, the Committee engaged Pearl Meyer & Partners (“PM&P”) as their independent consultant for 2015.

Benchmarking and Peer Group Comparison

When considering our compensation service team does not perform any other services on behalf of the Company.

Aon Hewitt annually certifies topractices and levels, the Compensation Committee reviews the independence of its executive compensation services and the adherence of its executive compensation consultants to Aon Hewitt’s independence policies, practices and procedures.levels of the peer group companies to determine market levels. The Compensation Committee has sole authorityperiodically reviews the composition of our peer group to retainensure that the companies in the group are relevant for comparative purposes, have executive positions with responsibilities similar to ours, and terminate any independent compensation consultant. Aon Hewitt earned approximately $100,000compete with us for the services it providedexecutive talent. In order to identify an appropriate peer group, the Compensation Committee and their consultant reviewed data for potential peers relating to revenue, assets, enterprise value, and market capitalization. The Committee also considered business focus (such as title companies and financial services companies tied to the real estate market) and complexity. Based on these factors, in 2012.

Elements of 2012 Named Executive Officer Compensation

The following table outlines the major elements of 2012 total compensation for our NEOs:

Compensation Element

Purpose

Link to Performance

Fixed/
Performance
Based
Short/
Long-Term

Base Salary

Helps attract and retain executives through market-competitive base payBased on performance with regard to individual job responsibilitiesFixedShort-Term

Short-Term Incentive Plan Awards

Encourages achievement of annual strategic and financial performance metrics that create long-term shareholder valueBased on achievement of predefined annual corporate performance objectives and target performance of relevant business unitPerformance

Based

Short-Term

Long-Term Performance-Based Awards(Performance-Based Restricted Stock and Cash-Based Performance Units)

Aligns executives’ long-term compensation interests with stockholders’ investment interests while creating a retention incentive through multi-year performance periodsInitial targeted award amount is determined based on competitive market data and performance relative to specific targets; ultimate value to each executive is based on the level of performance achievedPerformance

Based

Long-Term

Compensation Element

Purpose

Link to Performance

Fixed/
Performance
Based
Short/
Long-Term

One-Time Special Transition Awards(1)

A negotiated payment to provide certain executives with an incentive to give up benefits guaranteed under prior employment agreements and adopt new employment agreements with more shareholder friendly termsFixed

(one time)

Short-Term

Benefits and Perquisites

Establishes limited perquisites in line with market practice, as well as health and welfare benefits on the same basis as our general employee populationFixedShort-Term

(1)Reflected in the Summary Compensation Table Column (d) Bonus.

Peer Group Analysis

As part of the new executive compensation program for 2012,2013 the Compensation Committee withdetermined that the assistance of Aon Hewitt and management, constructed a compensationcompanies in the table below would comprise our peer group to use for the analysis of competitive market compensation data. Marketgroup.

During 2013, L&A compiled compensation data from the peer group using proxy statements and other publicly filed documents. L&A also provided published survey compensation data from multiple sources, including the following surveys: Economic Research Institute, Mercer, Inc., Kenexa and Towers Watson. For each survey, L&A adjusted the data to appropriately reflect companies of a similar size to the Company.

For each element of compensation for which data was a principal factor that we consideredavailable, L&A averaged the 25th percentile from the peer group and the published survey data to understand competitiveapproximate the 25th percentile for the “market.” A similar process was used to establish the 50th and 75th percentiles. The combination of published survey data and peer compensation industry trendsdata was then used to compare the compensation of our executives to comparably titled persons at companies within our peer group and best practices regarding variousin the survey data.

No new study was conducted during 2014, although the Committee relied upon data from the 2013 study when considering compensation developments. decisions during 2014, which was updated with recent information. The following companies comprise our peer group for 2014.

      Financial Size Fiscal Year End 2014 

Ticker

 

Company Name

 

Primary Business

 Revenues
($MM)
  Assets
($MM)
  Net
Income
($MM)
  Market
Cap
($MM)
  Enterprise
Value
($MM)
 

CRD.b

 Crawford & Company Insurance agents, brokers, and service $1,142   $808   $38   $514   $635  

EMCI

 EMC Insurance Group Inc. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $595   $1,501   $30   $480   $441  

EIG

 Employers Holdings, Inc. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $773   $3,779   $86   $740   $793  

FAF

 First American Financial Corporation Title insurance $4,642   $7,388   $205   $3,636   $2,113  

HCC

 HCC Insurance Holdings Inc. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $2,619   $10,818   $460   $5,181   $5,291  

HTH

 Hilltop Holdings Inc. Finance services $1,111   $9,180   $109   $1,799   $—    

IPCC

 Infinity Property and Casualty Corp. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $1,359   $2,418   $45   $888   $1,019  

KMPR

 Kemper Corporation Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $2,197   $7,833   $115   $1,902   $2,665  

MCY

 Mercury General Corporation Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $3,000   $4,609   $214   $3,119   $2,630  

AMTG

 Apollo Residential Mortgage, Inc. Real estate investment trusts $127   $3,969   $91   $506   $—    

NAVG

 Navigators Group Inc. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $1,011   $4,463   $90   $1,047   $1,063  

PHH

 PHH Corporation Miscellaneous business credit institutions $2,489   $4,683   $159   $1,218   $—    

RDN

 Radian Group Inc. Surety insurance $1,273   $5,960   $568   $3,194   $3,855  

RLI

 RLI Corp. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $775   $2,776   $135   $2,126   $2,035  

SAFT

 Safety Insurance Group Inc. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $772   $1,675   $61   $961   $799  

UFCS

 United Fire Group, Inc Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $920   $3,825   $51   $745   $660  

STFC

 State Auto Financial Corp. Fire, marine, and casualty insurance $1,167   $2,586   $58   $910   $879  
 75th Percentile  $2,197   $5,960   $159   $2,126   $2,113  
 MEDIAN  $1,142   $3,969   $91   $1,047   $879  
 25th Percentile  $775   $2,586   $58   $745   $635  

STC

 Stewart Information Services Corporation Title insurance $1,797   $1,381   $35   $893   $682  
 

Percentile ranking

   72%ile    5%ile    4%ile    33%ile    32%ile  

Source: Standard & Poor’s Capital IQ Database

Executive Compensation Risk Management

The Compensation Committee also reviewed benchmarks with regard to competitive data in 2012, as well as competitivedoes not believe that the Company’s compensation opportunities, including the size-adjusted 50th

percentile,policies and tabular 25th percentile, median,practices encourage excessive or unnecessary risk-taking by our executives and 75th percentiles to provide context for compensation decisions targeted at the marketplace median regarding Total Compensation.

other employees. In formulating executive compensation for 2012,fact, the Compensation Committee conducted a reviewbelieves that our compensation program is designed with an appropriate mix of compensation to mitigate these risks. Practices include:

Setting base compensation for executives within reasonable ranges of our competitive market and rewarding executives through our STI and LTI plans for exceptional performance when the peer group in late 2011Company outperforms, which we believe aligns management’s interests with stockholders’ interests;

Utilizing financial, operational and early 2012. As part of this review, Aon Hewitt provided information for a group of publicly-traded companies selected based onindividual performance measurements under the STI plan that require both the applicable six-digit GICS industry codeobjective and the company’s size (as measured by market capitalization and assets). This peer group was used to provide competitive pay data information for the NEOs, and also served as the peer group used for evaluatingsubjective performance under a portion of the Company’s long-term incentive awards made in 2012. This peer group was recommended by the compensation consultant, and then approveddeterminations, with discretion retained by the Compensation Committee in 2012,to consider imprudent risk assumption that led to short-term gains and consistsadjust the awards produced under such plan accordingly;

Incorporating performance-based long-term incentives, which encourage consistent behavior and reward long-term, sustained performance of the following companies:Company;

 

Peer Companies

Prohibiting trading of derivatives or hedging by executive officers as required in the Company’s Security Trading and Investment Policy;

Regularly benchmarking our current compensation practices, policies and pay levels with our peer group;

Requiring a mandatory forfeiture of grants of unvested equity upon a termination by the Company for cause; and

Ensuring that our executive compensation program is overseen by a committee of independent directors, who are advised as needed by both internal and external risk experts.

Elements of 2014 NEO Compensation

American Safety Ins. Holding LTD.

Hallmark Financial Services

Amerisafe Inc.

Hilltop Holdings Inc.

Baldwin & Lyons

Independence Holding Co.

Citizens Inc.

Infinity Property & Casualty Corp.

Crawford & Co.

Meadowbrook Ins. Group Inc.

Donegal Group, Inc.

National Financial Partners CP

EMC Insurance Group, Inc.

National Interstate Corp.

Fortegra Financial Corp.

Safety Insurance Group Inc.

Global Indemnity PLC

SeaBright Holdings Inc.

Greeenlight Capital RE Ltd.

Universal Insurance Holdings

Base Salaries

We pay an annual base salary to each of our NEOs in order to provide them with a fixed rate of cash compensation that is “non-variable” during the fiscal year. Typically, inIn establishing base salaries, the Compensation Committee considers a variety of factors, including internal pay equity, operational performance as it relates to an executive’s level of duties and responsibilities applicable to the position held, and historical compensation information. We believe that this is critical to motivate and retain our NEOsexecutives who each have leadership talents and business expertise that make them attractive to other companies.

In connection with its annual review of executive compensation, the Compensation Committee with recommendations fromdetermined that certain NEO’s base salaries should increase, effective January 1, 2014. These increases reflected the Compensation Committee’s evaluation of market data and the performance of the executives, which determined that the CEO determined to increaseand CFO were below market. The base compensation for NEOs to align to our newly adopted compensation model targeting the median for total compensation, to acknowledge the broadening of responsibilities for some NEOs, as well as the transition to new roles and corresponding new employment agreements with different terms and conditions. Given the level of organizational change that occurred in 2012, it was also considered important to retain the top leadership team chosen by the new CEO. These base salaries will remain constant for 2013. Base salaries for each of the NEOs are shown in the table below:

 

Name

  2011 Base Salary ($)   2012 Base Salary ($)   Change from
2011-2012
 

NEO

  2013 Base Salary ($)   2014 Base Salary ($)   % Change 

Matthew W. Morris(1)

   305,000     400,000     31.1   400,000     450,000     12.5

J. Allen Berryman(2)

   250,000     310,000     24.0   310,000     325,500     5

Glenn H. Clements(3)

   250,000     400,000     60.0   400,000     400,000     0

Jason R. Nadeau(3)

   300,000     350,000     16.7   350,000     350,000     0

Steven M. Lessack(3)

   265,000     400,000     50.9   400,000     400,000     0

(1)Matthew W. Morris was elected Chief Executive Officer effective November 2011. Matthew W. Morris’ salary amount for 2011 reflects an increase in base salary to $305,000 effective November 2011.
(2)J. Allen Berryman received a new employment agreement in 2012. The salary amount reflects this new agreement with different terms and conditions, as well as corresponding market pay.
(3)Glenn H. Clements, Jason R. Nadeau and Steven M. Lessack assumed new titles, roles, broader responsibilities, and executed new employment agreements in 2012. The salary amount reflects these actions.

Short-Term Incentives for 2012

Short TermShort-Term Incentive Plan (the “STI Plan”)for 2014

Our annualThe Compensation Committee believes STI Plan was redesigned for 2012, to enhance the linkage between corporate and operational performance and the potential cash awards to be made to our NEOs. We believe that this element of compensation is an important part of the typical basic compensation package provided by companies with which we compete for executive talent, and therefore helpsa well-reasoned STI approach can help us to remainbe competitive. At the same time, we believe theour STI Planapproach motivates our NEOsexecutives to meet our financial and strategic objectives.

Based largely on the recommendations from the CEO, the Compensation Committee established corporate performance goals and operational performance goals for each NEO for 2012, as well as the applicable weight for each of the goals. Setting Target Award Opportunities

The Compensation Committee also established a target award amount for each NEO as a percentage of base salary whichsalary. This target was used at the end of the year as the base point for determining any actual earned award.

In settingaddition, a maximum award opportunity of 200% of target was established. The Compensation Committee sets the target cash award amounts for 2012,opportunities based on the Compensation Committee considered information from the peer group data mentioned aboveNEOs’ level of responsibilities and with respecttheir ability to the NEOs other than the CEO, the recommendations of CEO. In addition, the Compensation Committee and management performed a detailed analysis in setting objective financial measures and goals to ensure the program appropriately balanced the Company’s objectives, as aligned with long-term shareholder interest, and individual operational performance

objectives,impact our business results, as well as appropriate and effective risk-mitigating components. The Compensation Committee also chose to more heavily weigh long term measures and awards in considering overall compensation for our CEO. In 2012, the Compensation Committee established the following targetedconsideration of benchmarking data, as outlined on page XX. 2014 target award opportunities were as a percentage of base salary and maximum award opportunities as a percentage of target:follows:

 

Named Executive Officer

  Target
Award Opportunity
(Percent of Base)
 Maximum
Award Opportunity
(Percent of Target

Award Opportunity)
 Actual Award Earned
for FY 2012
Performance ($)
 

NEO

  STI Target
(as a %  of Base Salary)
 STI Target
($)
 

Matthew W. Morris

   60  200  480,000     100 $450,000  

J. Allen Berryman

   30  200  131,278     40 $130,200  

Glenn H. Clements

   100  200  763,505     100 $400,000  

Jason R. Nadeau

   100  200  696,211     100 $350,000  

Steven M. Lessack

   60  200  472,896     60 $240,000  

To determine earned awards, we use payout matrices that link the metrics2014 Performance Metrics, Goals, Results and reflect threshold-to-maximum opportunities based on various achievement levels of the metrics. The STI Plan financial target metrics were based on (1) earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (“EBITDA”) improvement, modified return on equity, and TSR, and (2) various measures of operational performance at the business unit level. (See the footnotes of the table entitled “2012 Corporate Financial Goals and Results” for how such metrics are calculated.)Bonus Payouts

The Compensation Committee chose those metrics to:established performance goals for each NEO for 2014, as well as the applicable weight for each of the goals, based on their respective roles within the organization. Our CEO’s STI bonus payout is 100% dependent on the achievement of corporate goals. Our other NEOs’ STI bonus payouts are also dependent on the achievement of the same corporate goals as the CEO, but are further balanced with other business-specific goals that are more closely tied to their roles within the organization.

EstablishFor 2014, our goals were based upon internal financial projections, an evaluation of the overall economic environment, a clearsubjective assessment of market expectations, specific tactics to support our strategy, and direct relationshipa very narrow range between threshold/target/maximum metric measures.

While we continued to work toward our stated goals, during the year, our executive compensation and our performanceteam was also asked to focus on a short-term basis;

Emphasize operating$25 million dollar cost cutting initiative and the comprehensive reinvention of processes and documentation required for implementation of mandatory industry-wide CFPB regulatory changes. These two projects are moving forward successfully, but the urgency of these projects is high and the level of effort has been substantial. We believe our executive team and employees’ performance drivers;

Focushas been outstanding; however, we failed to meet the threshold on shareholder value through executive compensation measures; and

Fosterany of our corporate goals and strategies.performance metrics, meaning no bonuses were paid based on those metrics.

The maximumfollowing tables provide a breakdown of targeted award underopportunities, metrics utilized to determine STI payout, performance results, and the plan is capped at 200% of the target award. The target metrics set for our short-term incentives and their corresponding results were as followsactual STI payout for each NEO:NEO.

2012 Corporate Financial Goals and Results

 

Performance Goals

 Weighting  Threshold  Target  Maximum  2012
Results
  Incentive
Award Earned
(Metric Percent
of Payout)
 

Matthew W. Morris

      

Corporate Performance

  100     

EBITDA Improvement(1)

  50  25  50  140  162  100

Modified Return on Equity(2)

  40  3  6  11  22  80

Relative TSR Ranking(3)

  10  30  50  80  97  20

J. Allen Berryman

      

Corporate Performance

  50     

EBITDA Improvement(1)

  25  25  50  140  162  50

Modified Return on Equity(2)

  20  3  6  11  22  40

Relative TSR Ranking(3)

  5  30  50  80  97  10

Operational Performance

  50     

Budget Attainment(4)

  25  10  0  -10  3  21

Customer Service Index(5)

  13  2  10  15  4  8

Project Attainment(6)

  12  75  90  100  90  12

Glenn H. Clements

      

Corporate Performance

  40     

EBITDA Improvement(1)

  20  25  50  140  162  40

Modified Return on Equity(2)

  16  3  6  11  22  32

Relative TSR Ranking(3)

  4  30  50  80  96  8

Operational Performance

  60     

Modified EBITDA(7)

  22  25  50  75  206  44

Modified EBITDA Margin(8)

  16  10  15  20  17  23

Employee Costs Ratio(9)

  14  52  50  48  48  28

Policy Loss Ratio(10)

  8  7.2  7.0  6.8  6.7  16

Jason R. Nadeau

      

Corporate Performance

  40     

EBITDA Improvement(1)

  20  25  50  140  162  40

Modified Return on Equity(2)

  16  3  6  11  22  32

Relative TSR Ranking(3)

  4  30  50  80  96  8

Operational Performance

  60     

Modified EBITDA(7)

  22  0  7.5  10.0  18.5  44

Modified EBITDA Margin(8)

  16  10  20  30  29  31

Employee Costs Ratio(9)

  14  70  65  60  60  28

NPS Expense Ratio(11)

  8  7.00  6.65  6.30  6.24  16

Steven M. Lessack

      

Corporate Performance

  40     

EBITDA Improvement(1)

  20  25  50  140  162  40

Modified Return on Equity(2)

  16  3  6  11  22  32

Relative TSR Ranking(3)

  4  30  50  80  97  8

Operational Performance

  60     

Modified EBITDA(7)

  30  0  5  18  32  60

Modified EBITDA Margin(8)

  22  10  15  20  26  44

Policy Loss Ratio(10)

  8  29  28  25  26  13

 

(1)

Short-Term Incentive

Performance Goals

Target
(%)
2014
Results
(%)
Incentive
Performance
($)

Matthew W. Morris

Corporate Performance

EBITDA Improvement(1)

0.00-6.33—  

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

5.504.64—  

Modified Return on Equity(3)

10.007.97—  

J. Allen Berryman

Corporate Performance

EBITDA Improvement(1)

0.00-6.33—  

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

5.504.64—  

Modified Return on Equity(3)

10.007.97—  

Operational Performance

Project Attainment(4)

80.00100.0032,550

Customer Service Index(5)

80.0083.0013,541

Budget Attainment(6)

0.00-2.6912,023

Glenn H. Clements

Corporate Performance

EBITDA Improvement(1)

0.00-6.33—  

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

5.504.64—  

Modified Return on Equity(3)

10.007.97—  

Operational Performance

Operating Revenues Improvement(7)

5.000.4154,126

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

20.0014.69—  

Policy Loss Ratio(8)

5.003.5580,000

Jason R. Nadeau

Corporate Performance

EBITDA Improvement(1)

0.00-6.33—  

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

5.504.64—  

Modified Return on Equity(3)

10.007.97—  

Operational Performance

Operating Revenues Improvement(7)

10.0043.58210,000

Modified EBITDA Margin(9)

10.007.16—  

Steven M. Lessack

Corporate Performance

EBITDA Improvement(1)

0.00-6.33—  

Pretax Profit Margin(2)

5.504.64—  

Modified Return on Equity(3)

10.007.97—  

Operational Performance

Operating Revenues Improvement(7)

5.007.3488,128

Modified EBITDA Margin(9)

44.0043.6354,398

Policy Loss Ratio(8)

26.0023.0048,000

(1)Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) Improvement is calculated by adding back interest expense, depreciation expense and amortization expense to pretax earnings and comparing the results against the same number for the prior year.

(2)Pretax Profit Margin is calculated by dividing pretax profits by operating revenues.
(2)(3)

Modified Return on Equity is calculated by dividing modified net earnings attributable to Company, which is calculated by subtracting certain items including, but not limited to, certain unusual income tax expense or benefit as determined by the boardBoard of directorsDirectors of the Company from net earnings attributable to

Company, by modified average shareholders’stockholders’ equity, which is calculated by subtracting cumulative other comprehensive income and noncontrolling interest from shareholders’stockholders’ equity.
(3)(4)Relative TSR RankingProject Attainment is determinedspecific goals established for each service center executive. This metric is measured by calculatingdetermining how much of the Company’s percentile ranking for TSR relative to the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index.annual goals were completed on a percentage basis.
(4)(5)Customer Service Index is an internal survey conducted at least annually. The metric is calculated by taking the subsequent survey score minus the benchmark survey score. The difference is then divided by the benchmark survey score.
(6)Budget Attainment metric measures the variance between actual expenses and budgeted expenses. It is calculated by taking the actual annual expenses minus the budgeted annual expenses. The difference is then divided by the budgeted annual expenses.
(5)(7)Customer Service Index is an internal survey conducted at least annually. The metricOperating Revenues Improvement is calculated by taking the subsequent survey score minus the benchmark survey score. The difference is then divided by the benchmark survey score.comparing current year revenues from operations reported in local currency against prior year revenues from operations reported in local currency.
(6)(8)Project Attainment is specific goals established for each service center executive. This metric is measured by determining how much of the annual goals were completed on a percentage basis.
(7)Modified EBITDA is calculated by subtracting Investment Income, Investment and Other Gains (Losses) – Net, and other unique or unusual items as determined by the board of directors of the Company from EBITDA.
(8)Modified EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing Modified EBITDA by operating revenues.
(9)Employee Costs Ratio is calculated by dividing the employee costs by operating revenues.
(10)Policy Loss Ratio is calculated by dividing title losses and claims by title insurance revenues from Direct Operations and Agency Operations.
(11)(9)National Production Services (“NPS”) Expense RatioModified EBITDA Margin is calculated by dividing NPS expensesModified EBITDA by operating revenues. Modified EBITDA is calculated by subtracting Investment Income, Investment and Other Gains (Losses)—Net, and other unique or unusual items as determined by the sumBoard of (1) operating revenues lessDirectors of the Company’s portion of earningsCompany from equity investees from the Direct Operations and (2) external operating revenues less the Company’s portion of earnings from equity investees from NPS.EBITDA.

Long-Term Incentives

One-Time Transition Payments2014 Long-Term Incentive Plan

As considerationWe believe that long-term incentives that balance performance-based opportunities with service-based restrictions, helps us achieve alignment of stockholder and executive interests by rewarding NEOs for entering into new employment agreements effective January 2012, the Company made one-time special transition paymentscreation of sustained stockholder value and providing us with a means to retain and motivate high-caliber executives needed to attain our desired performance goals.

Over the last several years, our approach to long-term incentives has evolved with our business strategy, feedback from our stockholders, and market trends. For 2014, we continued to place the heaviest emphasis on performance-based incentives, with two-thirds of the NEOs. These one-time transition payments were used as an incentiveoverall annual award vesting contingent upon the achievement of specified financial goals over a three-year performance period (2014 to give up compensation and benefits guaranteed under prior employment agreements and adopt new agreements with more shareholder friendly terms.2016). The amounts were based on valueremaining third of compensation and benefits lost by converting to the new pay-for-performance targets and incentives. In addition, these transition payments reflectaward is provided in the factform of time-based restricted shares that many NEOs assumed new responsibilitiescliff vest at the end of 2011.2016 based on continued service.

Performance-Based Incentive Award

The amountsCompensation Committee believes both relative and absolute metrics provide appropriate goals for our long-term incentive awards. Performance-based incentive awards use both a relative total stockholder return (“TSR”) metric versus the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index Companies (“Comparative Group”) and an absolute EPS growth metric. Each metric receives a 33% weighting in the normal annual LTI plan for 2014. This performance-based incentive award does not include the KEEPs award, which is discussed separately below.

The following table shows the percentage of the transition payments were determined by calculating annualized variable pay for 20122014 performance-based shares that will vest based on the prior year’s compensation agreements, less any short term incentives already received during 2012, as well as reflectinglevel of performance achieved. No performance-based shares will vest if performance does not exceed the new terms and conditionsthreshold level. Vesting is capped at 200% in the case of above-target performance:

    2014 Performance-Based Incentive Award* 
    Relative TSR vs. Comparative Group
50% of Performance-Based Award**
  EPS Growth
50% of Performance-Based Award**
 
  Level of
Performance
Achieved
  Percentage of TSR
Portion Vesting
  Level of
Performance
Achieved
  Percentage of EPS
Portion Vesting
 

Threshold

  40th percentile   50  5  50

Target

  60th percentile   100  10  100

Maximum

  100th percentile   200  15  200

*Payouts between performance levels will be interpolated.
**Both Relative TSR and EPS Growth metrics carry a 33% weighting in the normal annual LTI plan for 2014.

Time-Based Incentive Award

Time-based incentive awards, granted in the form of restricted stock, are intended to encourage the retention of our NEOs, while providing a continuing incentive to increase stockholder value since the realized value of the agreements. These transition payments were madeaward will depend on the Company’s share price at the time an award vests. This award receives a 33% weighting in the normal annual LTI plan for 2014. This weighting does not include the KEEPs award.

Restricted stock vests three years from the date of the award grant. NEOs must be actively employed through the three-year vesting period in order to receive a payout. At the vesting date, any awards are settled in shares of SISCO Common Stock. The number of shares will be based on the grant date fair value divided by closing price of the stock on the grant date. The grant value is determined by the following NEOs:formula:

 

Named Executive OfficerBase Salary

  Transition  Payment
($)x
  Target LTI (as a % of Base Salary)=Grant Value

Glenn H. Clements3

  500,000

Jason R. Nadeau

  500,000

Steven M. Lessack

150,000

Long-Term Incentives for 2012

Long Term Incentive Plan (the “LTI Plan”)2014 Target Award Grants

We believe thatThe target award values of the long-term incentives help align the interestsawarded to each of our NEOs and our stockholders because the potential compensation an executive can receive is tied directly to our stock price and our earnings performance. We believe this element of compensation is particularly effective for those individuals who have the most impact on the management and success of our business. In addition, by using metrics related to TSR and Company performance, this also serves to focus our NEOs to operate as a team. Prior to 2012, the Company granted tim

e-based restricted stock and unrestricted stock to its NEOs. As part of the executive compensation program overhaul undertaken in 2012, the Company moved away from granting solely time-based and unrestricted equity compensation awards to its NEOs towards granting performance-based equity and cash-based awards during 2012. For 2012, our NEOs were granted long-term incentives in the form of performance-based restricted stock and cash-based performance units. The Compensation Committee determined to grant these awards with sixty percent (60%) in performance-based restricted stock (“RSA”) and forty-percent (40%) in cash-based restricted performance units (“RPU”).

In determining the size of each NEOs 2012 Long-Term Incentive target and maximum award sizes,was expressed as a percentage of base salary as follows:

NEO

  Target LTI
(as a % of
Base Salary)
  Target Value of LTI ($) 
   TSR
Performance
Shares

(1/3)
   EPS
Performance
Shares

(1/3)
   Time-Based
Restricted Stock

(1/3)
   Total 

Matthew W. Morris

   175 $262,500    $262,500    $262,500    $787,500  

J. Allen Berryman

   85 $92,225    $92,225    $92,225    $276,675  

Glenn H. Clements

   90 $120,000     120,000     120,000    $360,000  

Jason R. Nadeau

   100 $116,667    $116,667    $116,667    $350,000  

Steven M. Lessack

   55 $73,333    $73,333    $73,333    $220,000  

One-Time EPS Performance Share Award (the “KEEPs Award”)

In 2014, the Compensation Committee approved a one-time special “challenge” performance share award tied to EPS performance ending in 2016, in support of our long-term strategic plan. This award was in addition to our normal LTI incentives in order to provide and award significantly more aggressive growth than would be required at maximum for our annual EPS performance shares discussed above. If the goals are achieved the performance share award will be fully vested. The KEEPs Plan goals and performance share award opportunities are as follows:

EPS Goal

  Award as a
% of Base Salary
 

$6.00

   700

$5.50

   600

$5.00

   500

< $5.00

   0

As the Compensation Committee continues to evaluate our long-term strategic plan, the Committee may determine that further “challenge” awards are appropriate in future years in order to provide an enhanced incentive for our NEOs to perform beyond what would typically be considered information from peer group data, as well as the historical compensation amountsoutstanding or maximum performance in our normal annual LTI program.

Other Practices, Policies and individual roles and responsibilities of each applicable Named Executive Officer. The LTI Plan financial target metrics were based on TSR and/or positive EBITDA. Guidelines

Share Ownership Guidelines

The Compensation Committee chosebases a large part of its compensation philosophy on aligning the interests of our executives with those metrics to createof our stockholders. As a correlation between executive compensation and the long-term performance of the Company.

In 2012,result, the Compensation Committee establishedhas adopted share ownership guidelines for our senior executive officers. These guidelines require the following targeted and maximum Long-Term Incentive award opportunities as a percentagelevels of base salary:ownership:

Named Executive Officer

  Target
LTI Opportunity
(RSA & RPU)
(Percent of Base)
 Target LTI
Opportunity
(RSA)

(# of Shares)(1)
   Target LTI
Opportunity
(RPU)

$
   Maximum  LTI
Opportunity
(RPU)

$
 

Matthew W. Morris

  125%  14,742     200,000     400,000  

J. Allen Berryman

  75%  6,855     93,000     186,000  

Glenn H. Clements

  75%  8,295     120,000     240,000  

Jason R. Nadeau

  100%  10,000     140,000     280,000  

Steve M. Lessack

  50%  5,897     80,000     160,000  

 

(1)Number

Share Ownership Guidelines

NEO

Required Ownership as a
Multiple of shares reflect price per share on execution date of employment agreement.Salary

CEO

6.0x

Other NEOs

0.3x –1.0x

These levels of ownership must be achieved within a five-year period from the date an individual becomes an executive officer.

The Compensation Committee annually monitors whether the executives have appropriate share ownership requirements based on their incentive plan targets and stock price, and adjusts the requirements accordingly. In addition, they monitor whether the executives have satisfied or are making progress toward satisfying the share ownership guidelines. In making this determination, the Compensation Committee considers common shares deemed to be held in the Stewart 401(k) Savings Plan, common shares beneficially owned by the executive (but excluding options whether or not exercisable), and restricted common shares granted to the executive.

As of December 31, 2014, each NEO was in compliance with the share ownership guidelines.

Performance-Based Restricted StockEquity Award Policies

The purposeCompensation Committee has a policy against making equity grants to our executives until any material non-public information has been disclosed to the public.

Clawback Policy

The Company and the Board reserve the right to recover (or “clawback”) from certain current and/or former key employees any wrongfully earned performance-based compensation, including stock-based awards, under the following circumstances:

There is a restatement of using RSAs isCompany financials due to provide a reward whose value is directly attributablematerial noncompliance with any financial reporting requirement;

The Board determines that the current or former employee has willfully committed an act of fraud, dishonesty or recklessness in the performance of his or her duties that contributed to their abilitythe noncompliance that resulted in the requirement to increaserestate Company financials; and

The cash incentive or performance-based equity compensation would have been less valuable than what was actually awarded or paid based upon the valueapplication of the businesscorrect financial results.

These provisions are designed to deter and prevent detrimental behavior and to protect our stock price. Our NEOs will receive RSAs if annualized TSR ranking relative to the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index is in the 50th percentile or is positiveinvestors from the signing date of employment agreement to December 31, 2014. RSAs also have a time vesting component that requires the NEO to be employed with the Company through the performance period.financial misconduct.

Cash-Based Performance Units

The purpose of using performance units is to reward our NEOs for effective management of the business over a multi-year period. NEOs will receive RPUs based on annualized TSR Ranking relative to the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index from the signing date of employment agreement to December 31, 2013. The performance goals range from Threshold, Target and Maximum. The annualized TSR Threshold is the 30th percentile ranking. The annualized TSR Target is the 50th percentile ranking. The annualized TSR Maximum is the 75th percentile ranking. RPUs will not be awarded if the Company fails to achieve positive EBITDA during the same performance period. RSUs also have a time vesting component that requires the NEO to be employed with the Company through the performance period.

Health and Welfare Plans

Our NEOs,executives, along with all other associates, are eligible to participate in our medical, dental, vision, life, accidental death and disability, long-term disability, short-term disability, and other applicable employee benefits.

Defined Contribution Plan

The primary tax qualified long-term compensation plan we have for our employees in the United States is the Stewart 401(k) Savings Plan. Our NEOsexecutives also participate in this plan on the same terms as our other associates.

Deferred Compensation Plan

The Deferred Compensation Plan is a nonqualified, elective, deferred compensation plan designed to supplement any existing qualified plans and provide an extra financial benefit to key personnel and highly compensated employees. StewartThe Company supports this plan as an additional method for key personnel and highly compensated employees to plan for retirement. The Company established the Stewart Information Services Corporation 1999 Salary Deferred Compensation Plan (“the Deferred Compensation Plan”), effective January 1, 1999, and amended and restated it on January 1, 2005, in order to comply with Section 409A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the final regulations (T.D. 9321) thereunder. Assets are held in a separate rabbi trust to pay Planplan benefits. Rabbi trust assets are subject to the claims of creditors of the Company in the event of bankruptcy. Of 296345 eligible employees, 2139 eligible employees are active participants in the Deferred Compensation Plan. No NEO’sTwo NEOs (Matthew W. Morris and Glenn H. Clements) were active in this plan for 2012.

IV.Additional Policies and Procedures Related to Compensation

Share Ownership Guidelines

The Compensation Committee bases a large part of its compensation philosophy on aligning the interests of our NEOs with those of our stockholders. As a result, the Compensation Committee has adopted share ownership guidelines for our senior executive officers. These guidelines require that within a five year period from the date a person becomes an executive officer, they must hold Company common stock in value equal to approximately .30 to 1 times their base salary (or four times base salary in the case of our CEO). The Compensation Committee annually monitors whether the NEOs have appropriate share ownership requirements based on their incentive plan targets and stock price, and adjusts the requirements accordingly. In addition, they monitor whether the NEOs have satisfied or are making progress toward satisfying the share ownership guidelines. In making this determination, the Compensation Committee considers common shares deemed to be held in the Stewart 401(k) Savings Plan, common shares beneficially owned by the executive (but excluding options whether or not exercisable), and restricted common shares granted to the executive.

As of December 31, 2012, each NEO was either in compliance with the share ownership guidelines or had not completed a fifth year under their new employment agreement.2014.

Equity Award Policies

The Compensation Committee has a policy against making equity grants to our NEOs until any material non-public information has been disclosed to the public.

Deductibility of Executive Compensation

Limitations on the deductibility of executive compensation imposed by Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code have had no effect on our compensation programs for executive officers because we have never exceeded those limits.recently affected the Company. Accordingly, the Company undertook actions during 2014 and 2015 that are expected to significantly reduce, if not eliminate, the amount of disallowed deductions going forward. Even though Company intends to comply with Section 162(m), there may be instances when certain awards cannot be designed, or otherwise fail, to satisfy the requirements of Section 162(m) and may not be deductible.

Executive Employment Agreements

The board of directorsBoard has approved, based on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, that we should providethe provision of certain post-termination benefits to our executive officers to obtain the benefits of their services and attention to our affairs. In exchange for the benefits we provide under each agreement, our executive

officers are required to agree to certain confidentiality, non-competition and cooperation covenants, which our Compensation Committee believes are valuable to us when an executive’s employment terminates. In addition, the Compensation Committee believes that we should provide an inducement for our executive officers to remain in the service of our Company in the event of any proposed or anticipated change in control of our Company in order to facilitate an orderly transition, in the event of a change in control of our Company, without placing the executive in a position where he or she is concerned about being terminated without compensation in connection with such a transaction.

The employment agreements articulate the terms and conditions of the NEO’sexecutives’ employment with the Company, including termination provisions and applicable restrictive covenants. Generally, each agreement contains the following provisions:

 

AnTerm: initial three-year term, starting on January 1, 2012 and expiring on December 31, 2014.

employment term. Following the completion of the initial term, each agreement will automatically be extended annually for one or more one yearone-year terms, unless at least ninety days prior to the applicable renewal date either party gives written notice that the term should not be further extended after the next termination date.

 

InitialSalary: initial minimum base salary, subject to annual review and increase by the board of directors.Board.

 

Opportunity to participate in the Company’s STI and LTI Plans subject to annual review by the Compensation Committee.

STI and LTI Participation:opportunity to participate in the Company’s STI and LTI Plans subject to annual review by the Compensation Committee.No agreements include any guaranteed amounts under either our STI or LTI Plans, except as set forth in any accelerated vesting provisions of the respective agreements.

 

OpportunityBenefit Plan Participation: opportunity to participate in other Benefits offered to employees such as group life, medical plan, and other so called “fringe benefits.”

 

PerquisitesPerquisites: perquisites are limited to car allowance, normal paid association &and membership dues as needed for the position, executive development up to $5,000, additional Executive Life Insuranceexecutive life insurance for some NEOs (Glenn H. Clements and Steven M. Lessack), and country club dues for one NEO (Glenntwo NEOs (Matthew W. Morris and Glenn H. Clements).

 

Certain general severanceSeverance and Change in Control related payments (describedProvisions: described in more detail in the “Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control” section, starting on page 34).xx. Recent development for 2015: Based on a review of peer group practices by the PM&P it was determined that the multiples for base salary in the event of termination under Change in Control were below market. The Compensation Committee approved this change in principle to 3x for the CEO and 2x for the other NEOs on January 22, 2015.

 

MinimumAdditional Stockholder-Friendly Requirements: minimum Company stock ownership requirements.requirements and restricted covenants including confidentiality, non-competition, and non-solicitation.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary of Compensation

The following table summarizes compensation information for each of our NEOs for the three years ended December 31, 2012,2014, for each year they were NEOs.

Summary Compensation Table

 

Name and Principal Position

(a)

 Year
(b)
 Salary
($)
(c)
 Bonus
($)(1)
(d)
 Stock
Awards
($)(4) (e)
 Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(2)
(g)
 

Change in

Defined

Benefit

Plan Value

and

Nonqualified

Deferred

Compensation

Earnings ($)

(h)

 All Other
Compensation
($)(3)
(i)
 Total  ($)
(j)
  Year
(b)
 Salary
($)

(c)
 Bonus
($)(1)
(d)
 Stock
Awards
($)(2)(3)
(e)
 Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(4)

(g)
 Change in
Defined
Benefit
Plan Value &
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings ($)
(h)
 All Other
Compensation
($)(5)

(i)
 SEC
Total 

($)(j)
 SEC
Total Without
One-Time
KEEPs
Award
($)(k)(6)
 

Matthew W. Morris

  2012    400,000     300,000    480,000     10,761    1,190,761    2014    450,000     3,487,494    0    1,051    24,157    3,962,702    1,262,702  

Chief Executive Officer

  

 

2011

2010

  

  

  

 

305,000

275,000

  

  

  

 

225,000

150,000

  

  

 

 

218,380

  

  

 

67,920

38,065

  

  

   

 

11,550

11,200

  

  

  

 

609,470

692,645

  

  

Chief Executive

  2013    400,000     300,000    845,960    1,228    34,043    1,581,231    1,581,231  

Officer

  2012    400,000     300,000    480,000     10,761    1,190,761    1,190,761  

J. Allen Berryman

  2012    310,000     139,500    131,278     11,397    592,175    2014    325,500     2,229,673    58,113     12,615    2,625,901    672,901  

Chief FinancialOfficer,Secretary, Treasurer andPrincipal Financial Officer

  

 

2011

2010

  

  

  

 

250,000

250,000

  

  

  

 

150,000

150,000

  

  

 

 

181,640

  

    

 

9,060

7,400

  

  

  

 

409,060

589,040

  

  

Chief Financial Officer,

  2013    310,000     139,500    339,251     9,508    798,259    798,259  

Secretary, Treasurer and

  2012    310,000     139,500    131,278     11,397    592,175    592,175  

Principal Financial Officer

         

Glenn H. Clements

  2012    400,000    500,000    180,000    763,505     22,815    1,866,320    2014    400,000     2,760,000    134,126    1,349   63,794    3,359,269    959,269  

Group President

        

Group President,

  2013    400,000     180,000    1,017,307     23,809    1,621,116    1,621,116  

Direct Operations

          2012    400,000    500,000    180,000    763,505     22,815    1,866,320    1,866,320  

Jason R. Nadeau

  2012    350,000    500,000    210,245    696,211      1,756,456    
2014
  
  
350,000
  
   
2,450,012
  
  210,000     
5,883
  
  
3,015,895
  
  
915,895
  

Group President

        

Group President,

  2013    350,000     210,000    540,143     2,808    1,102,951    1,102,951  

Mortgage and Title Services

          2012    350,000    500,000    210,245    696,211      1,756,456    1,756,456  

Steven M. Lessack

  2012    400,000    150,000    120,000    472,896     272,763    1,415,659    2014    400,000     2,620,002    190,526     187,545    3,398,073    998,073  

Group President

        

Group President,

  2013    400,000     120,000    569,592     135,312    1,224,904    1,224,904  

International

          2012    400,000    150,000    120,000    472,896     272,763    1,415,659    1,415,659  

 

(1)The amounts listed for 2012 represent one-time transition payments. More information on the transition payments is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis – One-Time Transition Payments.”
(2)The dollar amount listed represents cash incentive awards paid toRepresents the NEO. More information on fiscal 2012 discretionary bonuses is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Elements of 2012 Named Executive Officer Compensation,” and “Compensation Discussion and Analysis — Short Term Incentives for 2012.”
(3)See the following table captioned “All Other Compensation.”
(4)Represents grant date for fairaggregate value of stock awards granted in the designated year completedyear. For 2014, the amounts reported with respect to 2014 PSA’s and the KEEPs award, respectively, for each of the NEOs are as follows: for Matthew W. Morris, $1,039,500 and $3,150,000; for J. Allen Berryman, $365,211 and $2,278,500; for Glenn H. Clements, $475,200 and $2,800,000; for Jason R. Nadeau, $462,200 and $2,450,000; and Steven M. Lessack $290,400 and $2,800,000. All 2014 time vested restricted stock awards are also included in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 718.the aggregate amounts. More information is set forth in the “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” table in the column “Estimated Further Payouts Under Equity Incentive Plan Award.” For additional information regarding such computations and any related assumptions, see Note 1413 to our consolidated financial statements included in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012.2014.
(3)2014 Stock awards include a one-time “challenge” Performance Share Award under the Key Employee Equity Plan (KEEPs). The plan performance period for the KEEPs is January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 and is based on achievement of an aggressive threshold of $5 earnings per share. Performance Shares immediately vest if performance is met. If $5 EPS threshold is not achieved by December 31, 2016, there is no payout under this plan. More information on fiscal 2014 Stock Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Elements of 2014 NEO Compensation—Long-term Incentives” and “Grants of Plan-Based Awards” below.
(4)The dollar amounts listed represent cash incentive awards paid to the NEOs. More information on fiscal 2014 Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Elements of 2014.”
(5)See the following table captioned “All Other Compensation.”
(6)To show how the one-time aggressive KEEPs challenge award, as described under footnote (3), impacts year-over-year total compensation as determined under SEC rules, we have included this column to show total compensation without the KEEPs award. The amounts in this column are calculated by subtracting the target value of KEEPs from the amounts in the Stock Award column (e) and from the amounts reported in the SEC Total column. The amounts reported in this column differ substantially from, and are not a substitute for, the amounts reported in the SEC Total column.

The following table shows the components of the compensation included in column (i) of our Summary Compensation table for the year ended December 31, 2012.

All Other Compensation

 

Item

  Matthew W.
Morris
   J. Allen
Berryman
   Glenn H
Clements
   Steven M.
Lessack
   Matthew W.
Morris
   J. Allen
Berryman
   Glenn H.
Clements
   Jason R.
Nadeau
   Steven M.
Lessack
(1)
 

Other Compensation

                  

Directors’ fees(1)

   2,600     2,000      

Life insurance premiums

       5,235     2,837     567     1,595     44,200     567     40,331  

Long-term disability insurance premiums

   2,423     1,501     2,853     2,423     3,896  

Restricted stock dividends

   961     560         5,368     2,319     2,637     2,892     1,733  

Cost of living adjustment related to foreign assignment(2)

         55,363             59,894  

Taxes gross-up related to UK tax liability(2)

         190,151  

Company provided housing in UK(2)

         20,879  

Taxes related to foreign assignment

           58,577  

Housing related to foreign assignment

           17,438  

Tax return preparation(2)

         329             5,675  

Perquisites

                  

Personal use of company-owned auto or car allowance

   7,200     7,200     9,600       7,200     7,200     9,600      

Title insurance reimbursement

     1,637       1,698  

Tax gross-up on life insurance

       2,459     1,506  
        

Country club dues

       5,521       8,599       4,504      
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 
  $10,761    $11,397    $22,815    $272,763    $24,157    $12,615    $63,794    $5,883    $187,545  
  

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

   

 

 

 

(1)Until May 2012, our directors who are employees received directors’ fees for attending Company and subsidiary board meetings. In May, the board of directors changed its policy, and directors who are employees are no longer paid director fees.
(2)Steven M. Lessack is currently on an international assignment. These amounts are in relation to working outside of the home country.

Grants of Plan-Based Awards

The following table sets forth information concerning individual grants of plan-based equity and non-equity awards for the year ended December 31, 2012.2014.

 

   Estimated Future
Payouts under Non-Equity
Incentive Plan

Awards
 Estimated Future Payouts
under Equity Incentive
Plan Awards
         Estimated Future Payouts
under Non-Equity Incentive
Plan Awards
  Estimated Future Payouts
under Equity Incentive Plan
Awards
  All  Other
Stock
Awards:
Number  of
Shares of
Stock or
Units
(#) (i)
  Grant Date
Fair
Market
Value of
Stock and
Option
Awards ($)
(l)
 

Name

 Grant Date Threshold
($)
 Target
($)
 Maximum
($)
 Threshold
($)
 Target
($)
 Maximum
($)
 All Other
Stock
Awards:
Number of
Shares of
Stock or Units
(#)
 Grant Date
Fair Market
Value of Stock
and Option
Awards ($)
 
    
    
    Estimated Future Payouts
under Non-Equity Incentive
Plan Awards
  Estimated Future Payouts
under Equity Incentive Plan
Awards
  

Name (a)

  Grant
Date
(b)
 All  Other
Stock
Awards:
Number  of
Shares of
Stock or
Units
(#) (i)
  Grant Date
Fair
Market
Value of
Stock and
Option
Awards ($)
(l)
 

Matthew W. Morris

  1/1/2012(1)   120,000    240,000    480,000          1/1/2014(1)  
   1/1/2014(2)  
  1/1/2012(2)   100,000    200,000    400,000          1/1/2014(3)        
  10/1/2012(3)       300,000     14,742    300,000     1/1/2014(4)      2,250,000    2,700,000    3,150,000   

J. Allen Berryman

  1/1/2012(1)   46,500    93,000    186,000          1/1/2014(1)   65,100    130,200    260,400       
  1/1/2012(2)   46,500    93,000    186,000          1/1/2014(2)      91,303    182,606    365,211     182,606  
  10/1/2012(3)       139,500     6,855    139,500     1/1/2014(3)         2,915    94,067  
   1/1/2014(4)      1,627,500    1,953,000    2,278,500     1,953,000  

Glenn H. Clements

  1/1/2012(1)   200,000    400,000    800,000          1/1/2014(1)   200,000    400,000    800,000       
   1/1/2014(2)      118,800    237,600    475,200     237,600  
  1/1/2012(2)   60,000    120,000    240,000          1/1/2014(3)         3,793    122,400  
  10/16/2012(3)       180,000     8,295    180,000     1/1/2014(4)      2,000,000    2,400,000    2,800,000     2,400,000  

Jason R. Nadeau

  1/1/2012(1)   175,000    350,000    700,000          1/1/2014(1)   175,000    350,000    700,000       
  1/1/2012(2)   70,000    140,000    280,000     ��    1/1/2014(2)      115,500    231,000    462,000     231,000  
  10/12/2012(3)       210,000     10,000    210,000     1/1/2014(3)         3,688    119,012  
  11/2/2012(4)         10    245     1/1/2014(4)      1,750,000    2,100,000    2,450,000     2,100,000  

Steven M. Lessack

  1/1/2012(1)   120,000    240,000    480,000          1/1/2014(1)   120,000    240,000    480,000       
  1/1/2012(2)   40,000    80,000    160,000          1/1/2014(2)      72,600    145,200    290,400     145,200  
  10/1/2012(3)       120,000     5,897    120,000     1/1/2014(3)         2,318    74,802  
   1/1/2014(4)      2,000,000    2,400,000    2,800,000     2,400,000  

 

(1)Reflects 2012 Short Term2014 Short-Term Incentive Reward. More information on fiscal 20122014 Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Short TermShort-Term Incentives for 2012.2014.
(2)Reflects estimated Long Term Incentive—Cash-BasedLong-Term Incentive Performance Units. More information on fiscal 2012 Non-Equity Incentive Plan Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long Term Incentives for 2012.”
(3)Reflects Long Term Restricted StockShare Award. More information on fiscal 20122014 Equity Incentive Plan Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long TermLong-Term Incentives for 2012.2014.”
(3)Reflects Long-Term Restricted Incentive Stock Award. More information on fiscal 2014 Equity Incentive Plan Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Long-Term Incentives for 2014.
(4)Reflects a one-time “challenge” performance share award under the 5 YearKey Employee ServiceEquity Plan (KEEPs award). The plan performance period for the KEEPs award is January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 and is based on achievement of an aggressive threshold of $5 earnings per share. Performance Shares immediately vest if performance is met. If $5 EPS threshold is not achieved by December 31, 2016, there is no payout under this plan. More information on fiscal 2014 Stock Award.Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Elements of 2014 NEO Compensation—Long-term Incentives.”

The following table sets forth certain information regarding the exercise of options and vesting of common stock awards by our NEOs for the year ended December 31, 2012.

Option Exercises and Stock

Vested

 

  Stock Awards   Stock Awards 

Name

(a)

  Number of
Common
Shares
Acquired
on Vesting
(#)(d)
   Value
Realized on
Vesting ($)

(e)
   Number of
Common
Shares
Acquired
on Vesting
(#) (d)
   Value
Realized on
Vesting ($)
(e)
 

Matthew W. Morris

   2,000     26,420     18,049     669,169  

J. Allen Berryman

   1,600     21,136     8,455     313,701  

Glenn H. Clements

       8,295     307,247  

Jason R. Nadeau

   10,000     370,400  

Steven M. Lessack

       5,897     218,425  

Jason R. Nadeau

   10     254  

The following table sets forth certain information concerning the outstanding equity awards held by each of our NEOs for the year ended December 31, 2012.2014.

Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End

 

  Option Awards   Stock Awards  Option Awards     Stock Awards 

Name

(a)

  Number of Securities
Underlying Unexercised
Options (#) Exercisable
(b)
   Option
Exercise Price
($) (e)
   Option
Expiration
Date (f)
   Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Unearned Shares,

Units or Other
Rights That Have
Not Vested (#) (i)
   Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or Payout
Value of
Unearned Shares,
Units or Other
Rights That Have
Not Vested (#) (j)
  Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options (#)
Exercisable
(b)(1)
 Option
Exercise
Price
($) (e)(1)
 Option
Expiration
Date
(f)(1)
 Number of Shares
or Units of Stock
That Have Not
Vested (#) (g)
 Market Value of
Shares or Units
of Stock That
Have Not
Vested ($) (h)
 Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Number of
Unearned
Shares, Units or
Other Rights
That Have Not
Vested (#) (i)
 Equity Incentive
Plan Awards:
Market or
Payout Value of
Unearned
Shares, Units or
Other Rights
That Have Not
Vested (#) (j)
 

Matthew Morris

   1,600     26.83     11/30/2017     24,356     633,256  

Allen Berryman

         12,455     323,830  

Matthew W. Morris

  1,600    26.83    11/30/2017    22,835    845,808    16,106    596,566  

Matthew W. Morris(2)

        2,700,000  

J. Allen Berryman

     10,680    395,587    5,659    209,609  

J. Allen Berryman(2)

        1,953,000  

Glenn H. Clements

   2,000     39.25     6/1/2015     8,295     215,670    2,000    39.25    6/1/2015    10,716    396,921    7,363    272,726  

Glenn H. Clements

   2,000     38.01     6/1/2016        2,000    38.01    6/1/2016       0  

Glenn H. Clements

   2,000     26.83     11/30/2017        2,000    26.83    11/30/2017       0  

Glenn H. Clements(2)

        2,400,000  

Jason R. Nadeau

     11,765    435,776    7,158    265,132  

Jason R. Nadeau(2)

        2,100,000  

Steven M. Lessack

         5,897     153,322       6,933    256,798    4,499    166,643  

Jason R. Nadeau

         10,000     260,000  

Steven M. Lessack(2)

        2,400,000  

(1)These options were part of an earlier Long-Term Incentive Plan. The Company no longer uses Stock Options as an incentive.

Defined Contribution Plans

The Company sponsors a defined contribution plan, the Stewart 401(k) Savings Plan (the “401(k) Plan”), in which all employees are eligible to participate upon their date of hire with the Company. In general, a participant in the 401(k) Plan may elect to defer, on a pretax or Roth after-tax basis, a specified percentage of their compensation, subject to certain limitations under the Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”). Contributions by participants whose compensation is in the highly compensated group of employees are subject to certain additional limitations under the IRC. Deferred compensation is contributed to a trust managed for the benefit of the participants. Net investment income (loss) is allocated to participants’ accounts daily based upon the proportion that each participant’s account balance bears to the participant account balances in each investment fund. No matching contributions were made in 2012, however a discretionary match was made in March 2013 to all employees that were active in the 401(k) Plan in 2012, and that were still employed by the Company on December 31, 2012.

(2)Equity Incentive Plan Awards reflects a one-time “challenge” performance share award under the Key Employee Equity Plan (KEEPs award). The plan performance period for the KEEPs is January 1, 2014 through December 31, 2016 and is based on achievement of an aggressive threshold of $5 earnings per share. Performance Shares immediately vest if performance is met. If $5 EPS threshold is not achieved by December 31, 2016, there is no payout under this plan. More information on fiscal 2014 Stock Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Elements of 2014 NEO Compensation—Long-term Incentives.”

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation Plans

The Company established the Stewart Information Services Corporation 1999 Salary Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”), effective January 1, 1999, and amended and restated it on January 1, 2005.August 27, 2009. The Deferred Compensation Plan is a nonqualified deferred compensation plan maintained primarily to provide deferred compensation benefits for a select group of management or highly compensated employees. Assets are held in a separate rabbi trust to pay Plan benefits. Rabbi trust assets are subject to the claims of creditors of the Company in the event of bankruptcy. NoneTwo of the NEOs (Matthew W. Morris and Glenn H. Clements) participated in the Deferred Compensation Plan in 2012.2014.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation

Name

(a)

 Executive
Contributions in Last
Fiscal Year ($) (b)
  Company
Contributions in Last
Fiscal Year ($) (c)
  Aggregate Earnings
in Last Fiscal Year
($) (d)
  Aggregate
Withdrawals/
Distributions in Last
Fiscal Year ($) (e)
  Aggregate Balance
at Last Fiscal Year-
End ($) (f)
 

Matthew W. Morris

  35,423    0    2,411    0    51,062  

Glenn H. Clements

  0    0    12,993    0    321,095  

Potential Payments upon Termination or Change in Control

Each of the NEOsexecutives (or their beneficiaries) would be entitled to certain payments upon termination of employment. In the case of death, these would include the following “Accrued Amounts”:

 

Any portion of the NEO’sexecutive’s accrued but unpaid base salary and accrued but unused vacation time that shall have been earned prior to the termination but not yet paid;

 

Any short termshort-term incentive and long termlong-term incentive payments for the prior fiscal year that shall have been earned prior to the termination and not yet paid;

 

Any employee benefits (401(k) Plan) that have vested as of the date of termination as a result of participation in any of the Company’s benefit plans; and

 

Any expenses with respect to which they are entitled to reimbursement.

In the case of retirement, or involuntary termination without “Cause” or “Good Reason(1)Reason (1),” in exchange for a general release of claims, the NEOexecutive is generally entitled to:

 

Accrued Amounts;

 

Twelve to twenty fourtwenty-four months of base salary (2x Base(3x base for CEO; 1x Base2x base for all other NEOs)executives);

 

An extension of medical and dental benefits at the employee rate for up to 12 months;

All unvested long-term incentive compensation that becomes vested on a pro-rata basis and shall be based on actual results compared to target objectives at the end of the incentive period, if executive was actively employed at least 25% of the applicable performance period; and

Outplacement services not to exceed $10,000.

In the case of termination in connection with a change in control, in exchange for a general release of claims, the executive is generally entitled to:

Accrued Amounts;

Twenty-four to thirty-six months of base salary (3x base for CEO; 2x base for all other executives);

An extension of medical and dental benefits at the employee rate for up to 12 months;

 

All unvested long-term incentive compensation that becomes fully vested and unrestricted as a result of this type of Termination;termination; and

 

Outplacement services not to exceed $10,000.

If terminated upon disability, the executive would be limited solely to the payment of the Accrued Amounts, and all unvested long-term incentive compensation would become fully vestedas allowed under termination for retirement or involuntary termination without “Cause” or “Good Reason”.

All executives are required to sign a confidentiality, non-competition and unrestricted.non-solicitation agreement. If executive violates the provisions, the executive forfeits any unvested awards and incentive plan benefits.

Matthew W. Morris

 Retirement ($)  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
  Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control
($)(2)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability ($)  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  900,000    900,000    —      1,350,000    —      —      —    

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

  —      —      —      —     —      —      —    

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  163,889   163,889   —      200,000   200,000   163,889   163,889  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Shares and Restricted Stock(1)

  2,522,396    2,522,396    —      3,787,500    3,787,500    2,522,396    2,522,396  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  21,685    21,685    —      21,685    —      21,685    —    

Excise Tax Gross-Up

  —      —      —      —      —      —      —    

Outplacement

   10,000    —      10,000    —      —      —    

Total

  3,607,970    3,617,970    —      5,369,185    3,987,500    2,707,970    2,686,285  

J. Allen Berryman

 Retirement ($)  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
  Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability ($)  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  325,500    325,500    —      651,000    —      —      —    

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

  —      —      —      —      —      —      —    

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  76,208   76,208   —      93,000   93,000   76,208   76,208 

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Shares and Restricted Stock(1)

  1,569,795    1,569,795    —      2,369,175    2,369,175    1,569,795    1,569,795  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  21,685    21,685    —      21,685    —      21,685    —    

Excise Tax Gross-Up

  —      —      —      —      —      —      —    

Outplacement

  —      10,000    —      10,000    —      —      —    

Total

  1,993,188    2,003,188    —      3,144,860    2,462,175    1,667,688    1,646,003  

Glenn H. Clements

 Retirement ($)  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
  Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control  ($)
  Disability ($)  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

     400,000       400,000        800,000    —     —     —   

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  98,333    98,333    —     120,000    120,000    98,333    98,333  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Shares and Restricted Stock(1)

  1,949,167    1,949,167    —     2,940,000    2,940,000    1,949,167    1,949,167  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  23,052    23,052    —     23,052    —     23,052    —   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Outplacement

  —     10,000    —     10,000    —     —     —   

Total

  2,470,552    2,480,552    —     3,893,052    3,060,000    2,070,552    2,047,500  

Jason R. Nadeau

 Retirement ($)  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
  Termination
in

Connection
with a

Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability ($)  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  350,000    350,000    —     700,000    —     —     —   

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  114,722    114,722    —     140,000    140,000    114,722    114,722  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Shares and Restricted Stock(1)

  1,771,389    1,771,389    —     2,660,000    2,660,000    1,771,389    1,771,389  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  23,590    23,590    —     23,590    —     23,590    —   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Outplacement

  —     10,000    —     10,000    —     —     —   

Total

  2,259,701    2,269,701    —     3,533,590    2,800,000    1,909,701    1,886,111  

Steven M. Lessack

 Retirement ($)  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
  Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability ($)  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  500,000    500,000    —     800,000    —     —     —   

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  65,556    65,556    —     80,000    80,000    65,556    65,556  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Shares and Restricted Stock(1)

  1,808,611    1,808,611    —     2,740,000    2,740,000    1,808,611    1,808,611  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  7,861    7,861    —     7,861    —     7,861    —   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

  —     —     —     —     —     —     —   

Outplacement

  —     10,000    —     10,000    —     —     —   

Total

  2,282,028    2,292,028    —     3,637,861    2,820,000    1,882,028    1,874,167  

 

(1)“Good Reason” includes, amongIncludes a one-time challenge Performance Share Award under the special Key Employee Equity Plan (KEEPs). More information on fiscal 2014 Stock Awards is set forth in “Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Elements of 2014 NEO Compensation—Long-term Incentives.”
(2)Reflects a change in the base salary multiple for termination in connection with a change in control to 3x for CEO and 2x for all other things (as affectedexecutives. This change was approved by the terms and conditions of the employment agreement), the NEO’s voluntary termination of his employment agreement in the event of a breach of his employment agreement by the Company.Compensation Committee on January 22, 2015.

The following table estimates the amount that would have been payable to each Named Executive Officer upon termination of employment under each of the identified circumstances as of December 31, 2012:

Matthew W. Morris

 Retirement
($)
  Involuntary
Termination
Without

Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
 Termination
in
Connection
with a

Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability
($)
  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  800,000    800,000     800,000     

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

       

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  120,000    120,000     240,000    240,000    120,000    120,000  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Based RestrictedStock

 

 

53,333

  

  53,000     160,000   

 

160,000

  

  53,333    53,333  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  23,621    23,621     23,621     

Excise Tax Gross-Up

       

Outplacement

   10,000     10,000     

Total

  996,955    1,006,955     1,233,621    400,000    196,955    173,333  

J. Allen Berryman

 Retirement
($)
  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
 Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability
($)
  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  310,000    310,000     310,000     

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

       

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  93,000    93,000     186,000    186,000    93,000    93,000  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Based RestrictedStock

  41,333    41,333     124,000    124,000    41,333    41,333  

Continuation of Insurance Benefits

  25,824    25,824     25,824     25,824   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

       

Outplacement

   10,000     10,000     

Total

  470,157    480,157     655,824    310,000    160,157    134,333  

Glenn H. Clements

 Retirement
($)
  Involuntary
Termination
Without
Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
 Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability
($)
  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  400,000    400,000     400,000     

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

       

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  120,000    120,000     240,000    240,000    120,000    120,000  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Based Restricted Stock

  53,333    53,333     160,00    160,000    53,333    53,333  

Continulion of Insurance Benefits

  22,142    22,142       

Excise Tax Gross-Up

       

Outplacement

   10,000     10,000     

Total

  595,475    605,475     832,142    400,000    195,475    173,333  

Jason R. Nadeau

 Retirement
($)
  Involuntary
Termination
Without

Cause or
Termination
for Good
Reason ($)
  For Cause
Termination
($)
 Termination
in
Connection
with a
Change in
Control ($)
  Change in
Control ($)
  Disability
($)
  Death ($) 

Cash Severance

  350,000    350,000     350,000     

Nonequity Incentive Compensation

       

Accelerated Vesting of Cash-Based Performance Units

  105,000    105,000     210,000    210,000    105,000    105,000  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Based Restricted Stock

  46,667    46,667     140,000    140,000    46,667    46,667  

Continulion of Insurance Benefits

  23,849    23,849     23,849     23,849   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

       

Outplacement

   10,000     10,000     

Total

  525,516    535,516     733,849    350,000    175,516    151,667  

Cash Severance

  500,000    500,000     500,000     

Nonequity Incentive Conipaniition

       

Accelerated Vesting of Cash -Based

Performance Units

  120,000    120,000     240,000    240,000    120,000    120,000  

Accelerated Vesting of Performance Based Restricted Stock

  53,333    53,333     160,000    160,000    53,333    53,333  

Continulion of Insurance Benefits

  10,947    10,947     10,947     10,947   

Excise Tax Gross-Up

       

Outplacement

   10,000     10,000     

Total

  684,281    694,281     920,947    400,000    184,281    173,333  

Compensation of Directors

Our directors received fees as follows during the year ended December 31, 2012:2014:

Director Compensation

 

Name

(a)

 Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
(2)(b)
 Bonus
(4)
 Stock Awards
($)(1)
(c)
 Change in
Defined Benefit
Plan Value and
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)(5)
(d)
 Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(3)
(e)
 All Other
Compensation
($)
(g)
 Total
($)
(h)
  Fees Earned
or Paid in
Cash
(b)
 Bonus
(4)
 Stock  Awards
($)(1)
(c)
 Change in  Defined
Benefit Plan Value
and Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
($)
(d)
 Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(3)
(e)
 All Other
Compensation
($)
(g)
 Total
($)
(h)
 

Dr. E. Douglas Hodo

  142,000     86,000       228,000  

Arnaud Ajdler

  65,000     60,000      2,000    127,000  

Catherine A. Allen(2)

  93,000     40,000      4,000    137,000    35,000        2,000    37,000  

Thomas G. Apel

  67,750     86,000      4,000    157,750    190,000     60,000      4,000    254,000  

Glenn C. Christenson

  84,000     60,000      3,000    147,000  

Robert L. Clarke

  55,250     86,000       141,250    81,500     106,000       187,500  

Paul W. Hobby .

  71,750     40,000       111,750  

Paul W. Hobby(3)

  31,750     106,000       137,750  

Dr. E. Douglas Hodo(4)

  67,000     60,000       127,000  

Frank Keating

  49,000     106,000      3,000    158,000  

Laurie C. Moore

  117,000     40,000       157,000    128,500     60,000       188,500  

Malcolm S. Morris

  290,116(2)   150,000      103,895    38,830    582,841    275,000(5)   150,000(6)    131,100     1,190    557,290  

Stewart Morris, Jr.

  290,116(2)   150,000     114,000    103,895    12,594    670,605    275,000(5)   150,000(6)    140,740     2,078    567,818  

Dr. W. Arthur Porter

  103,000     40,000       143,000    117,000     60,000       177,000  

 

(1)The annual stock award to directors was valued based on the market value per share of Common Stock at the close of business on the first business day following the 20122014 annual meeting of stockholders.
(2)Catherine A. Allen served as a director from January 1, 2014 until the annual stockholder meeting held May 2, 2014.
(3)Paul W. Hobby served as a director from January 1, 2014 until the annual stockholder meeting held May 2, 2014, after which date he served as an advisory director for the remainder of the year. Amounts shown represent all fees paid for the year 2014.
(4)Dr. E. Douglas Hodo served as Chairman of the Board from January 1, 2014 until May 2, 2014, after which date he served as Chairman Emeritus for the remainder of the year. Amounts shown represent all fees paid for the year 2014.
(5)Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. received salaries under their employment agreements with the Company in lieu of SISCO Director’s Fees.director’s fees.
(3)The board approved, in March 2012, the grant of 16,921 units of phantom stock to each of Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. The phantom stock units can be settled solely in cash and vest 50% at grant, 25% on the first anniversary of the grant date and 25% on the second anniversary of the grant date.
(4)(6)Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. received transition incentive payments under their employment agreements with the Company. More information is found under “Compensation of the Vice Chairmen”Chairmen.” in this section.
(5)Malcolm S. Morris experienced a negative change in the value of his Defined Benefit Plan for 2012.

Compensation for our non-management directors for 20122014 consisted of: cash compensation, consisting of annual retainers for all boardBoard members and Committee Chairs, equity compensation consisting of stock awards, and certain other compensation. Each of the current components of our non-management director compensation is described in more detail below. In 2012,2014, we paid an annual retainer to boardBoard members and Committee Chairs as follows:

 

Annual cash boardBoard retainer of $40,000

 

Annual stock boardBoard retainer of $40,000$60,000, which is fully vested at the time of grant

 

Annual cash Chairman of the Board retainer of $70,000

 

Annual cash Committee Chair retainers in the following amounts:

 

Executive—$10,000

Audit—$10,00015,000

Compensation—$5,00010,000

Technology Advisory—$5,000

Nominating & Corporate Governance—$5,00010,000

 

Meeting fees in the following amounts:

Board of Directors—$3,000 in-person / $2,000 telephonic (in the event a director must travel from out of state an additional $1,000 fee is paid)

Executive—$2,500 ($250 for written approval)

Audit—$2,500

Compensation—$2,000

Advisory—$2,000

Nominating and Corporate Governance—$2,000

Directors have the option to take the entire retainer in stock. They must notify the corporate secretary of such election by January 31 of each year. If they choose this option they will be granted a 15% bonus on the portion that would otherwise be paid in cash, payable in stock only.

In addition, we reimburse reasonable expenses incurred for attendance at Board and Committee meetings. See “All Other Compensation,” below.

All Other Compensation

 

Item

  Catherine
A. Allen
   Thomas
G. Apel
   Malcolm
S. Morris
   Stewart
Morris, Jr.
 

Other Compensation

        

Subsidiary company directors’ fees(1)

       2,100     2,100  

Travel fees(2)

   4,000     4,000      

Gift of company car to director(3)

       20,500    

Perquisites

        

Personal use of company-owned auto or car allowance(3)

       3,787     2,476  

Home security(3)

       4,200     824  

Tax gross-up on life insurance(3)

       523     206  

Country club dues(3)

       7,720     6,988  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 
  $4,000    $4,000    $38,830    $12,594  
  

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

Item

 Arnaud
Ajdler
  Catherine A.
Allen
  Thomas G.
Apel
  Glenn L.
Christenson
  Frank
Keating
  Malcolm S.
Morris
  Stewart
Morris, Jr.
 

Other Compensation

       

Travel fees(1)

  2,000    2,000    4,000    3,000    3,000    

Restricted stock dividends

       600    600  

Life insurance premiums

       295    739  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 
  2,000   $2,000   $4,000   $3,000   $3,000   $895   $1,339  
 

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

(1)Until May 2012, our directors who are employees received directors’ fees for attending Company and subsidiary board meetings. In May, the board of directors changed its policy, and directors who are employees are no longer paid director fees.
(2)Directors who reside outside of the state receive a travel fee of $1,000 for attendance at in-person meetings.
(3)Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. received perquisites for 2012 as consideration for entering into new employment agreements. These perquisites will not be continued into 2013 and throughout the agreement period. More information is set forth in “Compensation of Vice Chairmen.”

Compensation of Vice Chairmen

As reported in last year’sthe 2011 proxy, in November of 2011, the board of directors selected a new CEO and Dr. E. Douglas Hodo, an independent director, was selected as Chairman of the board of directors. The former Co-CEOs, Malcolm S. Morris and Stewart Morris, Jr. (who also served as Chairman and Vice Chairman of the board of directors, respectively and who, at that time controlled the majority of our Class B stock) moved into non-operational roles, as Vice Chairmen of the board,Board, with the Company, each with an annual salary of $275,000 and a one-time 2011 phantom stock grant in lieu of cash bonuses which would have been earned for 2011 under our former compensation plan.$275,000.

In their new roles, they serve as Company ambassadors and advisors performing tasks assigned by the CEO and board.Board. For example, Stewart Morris, Jr. was asked to serveserves as a member of the board of directorsBoard of the American Land Title Association, a position ensuring that the Company has a voice at the major title industry association.

To retain the Vice Chairmen’s considerable experience and knowledge over the transition period, ensure that their new non-operational advisor relationships were clear and that their employment was limited in time, the Compensation Committee endeavored to negotiate signednegotiated new employment agreements. After thoughtful and substantive conversations and negotiation, employment contracts were signed.

The terms of the employment agreementagreements include a Deferred Transition Incentive payment of $750,000 to be paid to each of the Vice Chairmen at a rate not to exceed $150,000 each year during the first four years of the employment term. To be certain that the annual transition payment is affordable to the Company, the full annual transition amount

will be paid only if the Company’s net annual Company earnings are at least $30 million for each of the relevant fiscal years. Should the Company earn less than $30 million during any fiscal year, the

annual payment for that year will be reduced proportionally. At the end of the five yearfive-year employment period, ending in December 2016, each Vice Chairman will receive an amount equal to $750,000 less the total of the Deferred TransactionTransition Incentive previously paid. The signed employment agreements are consistent with those of Company officers and provide for resignations as Vice ChairmenChairman at the end of the term.

Consistent with Company policy, as employees of the Company, the Vice Chairmen receive no cash, stock, or other fees for serving on the board of directors.Board.

Compensation Committee Report

To the Board of Directors of Stewart Information Services Corporation:

The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed the Compensation Discussion and Analysis section of this proxy statement with the Company’s management and, based on that review and discussion, the Compensation Committee recommended to the board of directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this proxy statement.

 

 Members of the Compensation Committee
 Laurie C. Moore, Chair
 Catherine A. Allen
Dr. W. Arthur Porter

Frank Keating

Arnaud Ajdler

Dated: March 5, 20139, 2015

 

PROPOSAL NO. 2

ADVISORY VOTE REGARDING THE COMPENSATION OF

STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION’S

NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The Compensation Discussion and Analysis beginning on page 17xx of this proxy statement describes the Company’s executive compensation program and the compensation decisions made by the Compensation Committee and the board of directors for 20122014 with respect to our Chief Executive OfficerCEO and other executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table on page 31xx (whom we refer to as the NEOs). The board of directors is asking stockholders to cast a non-binding advisory vote on the following resolution:

“RESOLVED, that the stockholders of the Company approve, on an advisory basis, the compensation of the Company’s executive officers named in the Summary Compensation Table, as disclosed in this proxy statement pursuant to the compensation disclosure rules of the SECU.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (which disclosure includes the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, the executive compensation tables and the related footnotes and narrative accompanying the tables).”

The board of directors is asking stockholders to support this proposal. While the advisory vote we are asking you to cast is non-binding, the Compensation Committee and the board of directors value the views of our stockholders and will take into account the outcome of the vote when considering future compensation decisions for our NEOs.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTEFOR THE APPROVAL OF THE ADVISORY RESOLUTION REGARDING THE COMPENSATION OF STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION’S NAMED EXECUTIVE OFFICERS.

PROPOSAL NO. 3

RATIFICATION OF THE APPOINTMENT OF KPMG

KPMG LLP

AS STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION’S

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR 20132015

KPMG LLP served as our principal independent auditors for our fiscal year ended December 31, 2012.2014. Our Audit Committee has reappointed KPMG LLP as our principal independent auditors for our fiscal year ending December 31, 2013.2015. Our stockholders are being asked to vote to ratify the appointment of KPMG LLP. If the stockholders do not ratify the appointment, the Audit Committee will reconsider its selection of KPMG LLP and will either continue to retain this firm or appoint new independent auditors. Even if the appointment is ratified, the Audit Committee may, in its discretion, appoint different independent auditors at any time during the year if it determines that such a change would be in the Company’s and the stockholders’ best interests. We expect representatives of KPMG LLP to be present at the meeting with the opportunity to make a statement if they desire to do so, and to be available to respond to appropriate questions.

Audit and Other Fees

The following table sets forth the aggregate fees billed for professional services rendered by KPMG LLP for each of our last two fiscal years:

 

  Year Ended December 31   Year Ended December 31 
  2012   2011   2014   2013 

Audit fees(1)

  $1,490,455    $1,473,054    $1,739,369    $1,704,978  

Audit-related fees

       31,870     —   

Tax fees(2)

  $8,840    $8,160     5,709     8,156  

All other fees

       —      —   

 

(1)Fees for the audit of our annual financial statements, the audit of the effectiveness of our internal controls over financial reporting, review of financial consolidated statements included in our Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, and services that are normally provided by KPMG LLP in connection with statutory and regulatory filings or engagements for the fiscal years shown.
(2)Fees for professional services rendered by KPMG LLP primarily for tax compliance, tax advice and tax planning.

The Audit Committee must pre-approvepreapprove all audit services and permitted non-audit services (including the fees and terms thereof) to be performed for us by our independent auditor. Since May 6, 2003, the effective date of the Securities and Exchange Commission’sSEC’s rules requiring preapproval of audit and non-audit services, 100% of the services identified in the preceding table were preapproved by the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee may form and delegate authority to subcommittees consisting of one or more members when appropriate, including the authority to grant preapprovals of audit and permitted non-audit services, provided that the subcommittee will present all decisions to grant preapprovals to the full Audit Committee at its next scheduled meeting.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS RECOMMENDS THAT YOU VOTEFOR THE PROPOSAL TO RATIFY THE APPOINTMENT OF KPMG LLP AS STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION’S INDEPENDENT AUDITORS FOR 2013.2015.

REPORT OF THE AUDIT COMMITTEE OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The Audit Committee serves as the representative of the board of directors for the general oversight of Stewart’sthe Company’s processes in the following areas: financial accounting and reporting, systems of internal control, audit, and monitoring compliance with laws and regulations and standards for corporate compliance. Stewart’sThe Company’s management has primary responsibility for preparing the consolidated financial statements and for Stewart’sthe Company’s financial reporting process. Stewart’sThe Company’s independent auditors, KPMG LLP, are responsible for expressing an opinion on Stewart’sthe Company’s consolidated financial statements, and whether such financial statements are presented fairly in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

In this context, the Audit Committee hereby reports as follows:

1. The Audit Committee has reviewed and discussed the audited financial statements with Stewart’sthe Company’s management.

2. The Audit Committee has discussed with the independent auditors the matters required to be discussed byunder the Statement on Auditing Standards No. 61, as amended (AICPA, Professional Standards, Vol. 1 AU Section 380), asapplicable rules adopted by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board in Rule 3200T.(PCAOB).

3. The Audit Committee has received the written disclosures and the letter from the independent auditors required by applicable requirements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight BoardPCAOB regarding the independent auditors’ communications with the Audit Committee concerning independence, and has discussed with the independent auditors the independent auditors’ independence.

4. Based on the review and discussions referred to in paragraphs (1) through (3) above, the Audit Committee has recommended to the board of directors that the audited financial statements be included in Stewart’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 20122014 for filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.SEC.

Each of the members of the Audit Committee is “independent” as defined under the listing standards of the New York Stock Exchange.NYSE.

The undersigned members of the Audit Committee have submitted this report:

Robert L. Clarke, Chair

Robert L. Clarke, Chair
Thomas G. Apel
Laurie C. Moore
Dated: March 6, 2013

Laurie C. Moore

Glenn Christenson

Dated: February 18, 2015

PROPOSAL NO. 4

STOCKHOLDER ADVISORY PROPOSAL RELATING TO THE CONVERSION OF THE CLASS B STOCK INTO COMMON STOCK

Opportunity Partners L.P., an entity that owns 100 shares of the Company’s Common Stock and is a member of a group that includes, among others, Bulldog Investors LLC that beneficially owns approximately 5% of the Company’s outstanding Common Stock, has advised the Company that it intends to present the following stockholder advisory proposal at the 2015 Annual Meeting. The stockholder advisory proposal, for which the Board and the Company accept no responsibility, is set forth below. Approval of the stockholder advisory proposal would require the affirmative vote of a majority of the Common Stock and Class B Stock, voting together as a single class, in person or by proxy at the 2015 Annual Meeting. Approval of the stockholder advisory proposal would not itself eliminate the Company’s dual class capital structure, but rather it would be an advisory recommendation to the Board to submit such a proposal to the stockholders in the future. The board of directors is not making a recommendation to stockholders regarding votes on this resolution.

[“Recommending that the Board of Directors submit a proposal to stockholders relating to the conversion of the Class B Stock into Common Stock.”]

Board of Directors’ Statement Relating to Stockholder Proposal No. 4

The Board has considered the proposal set forth above relating to the conversion of Class B Stock into Common Stock, and has determined to make no voting recommendation to stockholders. The proposal, which is advisory in nature, would constitute a recommendation to the Board if approved by stockholders. The Board recognizes that dual class capital structures is a controversial topic, and the Board wants to use this proposal as an opportunity for stockholders to express their views on this subject without being influenced by any formal recommendation the Board might make. Since the Board desires to hear the views of our stockholders concerning the dual class capital structure, our Board makes no recommendations with respect to this proposal.

The dual class capital structure with two classes of common stock (Common Stock and Class B Stock) provided for in our Certificate of Incorporation has existed since shares were offered to the public on March 20, 1970.

Our robust corporate governance practices include the following: (i) all but two of our directors are fully independent under the NYSE standards; (ii) only independent directors serve on the Advisory Committee, Audit Committee, Compensation Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee; (iii) all directors elected by each class of stock are elected annually by a majority of votes cast in an uncontested director election and are required to act in the best interests of all stockholders, in accordance with their fiduciary duties under Delaware law; (iv) the Board requires the separation of the offices of Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer; and (v) the current Chairman of the Board is an independent director.

No amendment to the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation that affects the Common Stock and Class B Stock unequally may be made without the affirmative vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of each class, voting separately. Stated another way, a majority of the holders of Class B Stock would have to agree to an amendment to the Certificate of Incorporation by which their shares of Class B Stock would be converted into shares of Common Stock, thus consenting to the loss of certain rights to elect directors. There can be no assurance that a majority of the holders of Class B Stock would vote to support the conversion of their Class B Stock into Common Stock.

YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS MAKES NO VOTING RECOMMENDATION TO STOCKHOLDERS REGARDING THE STOCKHOLDER ADVISORY PROPOSAL TO RECOMMEND THAT THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS SUBMIT A PROPOSAL TO STOCKHOLDERS RELATING TO THE

CONVERSION OF THE CLASS B STOCK INTO COMMON STOCK. THE BOARD WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE STOCKHOLDERS’ VOTE ON THIS PROPOSAL AS WELL AS OTHER FACTORS IN DETERMINING HOW TO PROCEED.

If stockholders return a validly executed proxy solicited by the Board, the shares represented by the proxy will be voted on this proposal in the manner specified by the stockholder. If the stockholders do not specify the manner in which their shares represented by a validly executed proxy solicited by the Board are to be voted on this proposal, such shares will be voted as abstentions. Abstentions are not considered votes cast and accordingly will not have any effect on whether the stockholder advisory proposal is approved.

CERTAIN TRANSACTIONS

Stewart Morris, Sr. is the father of Stewart Morris, Jr. and the uncle of Malcolm S. Morris. During the year ended December 31, 2012,2014, Stewart Morris served as Senior Advisor to the board,Board, and a director of Stewart Title Guaranty Company, receiving compensation of approximately $156,623,$167,052.04, consisting primarily of salary and bonus.

For many decades, the Company has maintained and utilized a collection of antique and replica carriages for business promotion and customer entertainment purposes and they have come to be associated with and symbolize the Company’s long history and tradition of quality and stability. The carriages are owned by Stewart Morris, Jr., Vice Chairman of the board of directors, and Stewart Morris, Sr., Senior Advisor to the board of directors. The associated equipment, such as trucks and trailers, are now primarily owned by Morris Ranch LLC, which is owned by the Morris family. The carriage house and stabling is owned by the 2012 Stewart Morris Jr Family Limited Partnership, is leased to Morris Ranch LLC and then subleased to the Company. Prior to June 1, 2012, the horses and carriages were provided to the Company under terminable leases at no charge from Stewart Morris, Jr. and Stewart Morris, Sr.; however, the Company was responsible for the labor, maintenance, housing and operating costs of these assets. As of June 1, 2012, the Company entered into a ten month agreement with Tally Ho Enterprises, LLC, owned in part by Stewart Morris, Sr., to provide the horses and carriages for Company-sponsored eventsimputed income on a per-event fee basis, with a minimum fee of $60,000 for the term of the agreement. Under this arrangement, Tally Ho Enterprises assumed substantially all the housing and maintenance costs of the horses and carriages. The Company’s total business promotion expense for these operations in 2012 was approximately $150,062. Upon the expiration of the current agreement, the Company expects to enter into a new agreement with Tally Ho Enterprises to provide carriages at customer events on a per-event fee only basis with no minimum commitment. Under the new agreement, Tally Ho will become solely responsible for the labor,legacy life insurance maintenance, transport, housing and operating costs of all carriage related assets in addition to providing the carriages and horses for Company events, resulting in a reduction in the Company’s costs for such events.policies.

Pursuant to theStewart Code of Business Conduct and Ethicsand the Company’sCode of Ethics for Chief Executive Officers, Principal Financial Officer and Principal Accounting Officer,, each of which are available on our web site atwww.stewart.com/investor-relations/corporate-governance(together, (together, the “Codes”), if any director or executive officer has a conflict of interest (direct or indirect, actual or potential) with the Company, such as any personal interest in a transaction involving the Company, the conflict must be fully, fairly and timely disclosed to the Company (either to the board of directors, the Company’s Chief Legal Officer, as provided for by the Codes). Conflicts of interest may include transactions between the Company and the immediate family of a director or executive officer, such as their spouse, parents, children, siblings, mothers- and fathers-in-law, sons- and daughters-in-law, brothers- and sisters-in-law and cohabitants. Any transaction involving an actual and material conflict of interest between the Company and any of its directors or executive officers is prohibited unless approved by the board of directors. A director with a conflict of interest must recuse himself or herself from participating in any decision to approve any such transaction. Furthermore, any material transaction between the Company and any holder of 5% or more of the Company’s voting securities is also prohibited unless approved by the board of directors.

STOCKHOLDER PROPOSALS FOR NEXT ANNUAL MEETING

To be included in the proxy statement and form of proxy relating to our 20142016 annual meeting of stockholders, proposals of Common Stockholders and Class B Stockholders must comply with Rule 14a-8 and be received by us at our principal executive offices, 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056, by November 28, 2013.[], 2015.

HOUSEHOLDING

To reduce the expenses of delivering duplicate proxy materials, we may take advantage of the Securities and Exchange Commission’sSEC’s “householding” rules that permit us to deliver only one set of proxy materials to shareholdersstockholders who share an address, unless otherwise requested. If you share an address with another shareholderstockholder and have received only one set of proxy materials, you may request a separate copy of these materials at no cost to you by contacting us at Stewart Information Services Corporation, Attn.: J. Allen Berryman, Corporate Secretary, 1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056 or at (713) 625-8100. For future Annual Meetings,annual meetings, you may request separate voting materials, or request that we send only one set of proxy materials to you if you are receiving multiple copies, by calling or writing to us at the phone number and address given above.

OTHER MATTERS

OurExcept as set forth in this proxy statement, our management does not know of any other matters that may come before the annual meeting.2015 Annual Meeting. However, if any matters other than those referred to above should properly come before the annual meeting,2015 Annual Meeting, the persons named in the enclosed proxy intend to vote such proxy in accordance with their best judgment.

Proxies for our 20142016 annual meeting of stockholders may confer discretionary power to vote on any matters that may come before the meeting unless, with respect to a particular matter, (i) we receive, by certified mail, return receipt requested, addressed to our Secretary, notice not later than February 15, 20142016 that the matter will be presented at the annual meeting and (ii) we fail to include in our proxy statement for the annual meeting advice on the nature of the matter and how we intend to exercise our discretion to vote on the matter.

We will pay If you wish to nominate an individual for election as a director at our 2016 annual meeting of stockholders, you must provide notice of your intention to do so in accordance with the cost of solicitation of proxiesprocedures set forth in the accompanying form. We have retained Innisfree M&A Incorporated, a proxy solicitation firm, to assist us in soliciting proxies for the proposals described in this proxy statement. We will pay Innisfree a fee for such service, which is not expected to exceed $7,500 plus expenses. In addition to solicitationCompany’s By-Laws by use of the mails, certain of our officers or employees, and certain officers or employees of Innisfree, may solicit the return of proxies by telephone, telegram or personal interview.February 15, 2016.

 

 By Order of the Board of Directors,
 

LOGO

J. Allen Berryman

 Secretary
March 28, 2013[], 2015 

LOGOANNEX A TO 2015 PROXY STATEMENT

Using a black ink pen, mark your votesADDITIONAL INFORMATION REGARDING PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION

Under applicable SEC rules and regulations, members of the board of directors, the Board’s nominees, and certain officers and other employees of the Company are “participants” with an Xrespect to the Company’s solicitation of proxies in connection with the 2015 Annual Meeting. The following sets forth certain information about the persons who are “participants.”

Directors and Nominees

The following table sets forth the names and business addresses of the Company’s directors (all of whom are also nominees for director), as shownwell as the names and principal business addresses of the corporation or other organization in which the principal occupations or employment of the directors is carried on. The principal occupations or employment of the Company’s directors are set forth in “Proposal No. 1—Election of Directors” in this Proxy Statement.

Name

Business Name and Address

Arnaud Ajdler

Engine Capital LP, 1370 Broadway, 5th Floor

New York, NY 10018

Glenn C. Christenson

1528 MacDonald Ranch Drive

Henderson, NV 89012

Robert L. Clarke

Bracewell & Giuliani, 711 Louisiana, Suite 2300

Houston, TX 77002

Laurie C. Moore

The Institute for Luxury Home Marketing

South Side on Lamar, 1409 S. Lamar #215

Dallas, TX 75215

Dr. W. Arthur Porter

Stewart Information Services Corporation

1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800

Houston, TX 77056

Thomas G. Apel

Stewart Information Services Corporation

1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800

Houston, TX 77056

Gov. Frank Keating

American Bankers Association

1120 Connecticut Ave. NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20036

Malcolm S. Morris

Stewart Information Services Corporation

1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800

Houston, TX 77056

Stewart Morris, Jr.

Stewart Information Services Corporation

1980 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 800

Houston, TX 77056

Certain Officers and Other Employees

The following table sets forth the name and principal occupation of the Company’s officers and employees who are “participants.” The principal occupation refers to such person’s position with the Company, and the principal business address of each such person is 1980 Post Oak Boulevard, Suite 800, Houston, Texas 77056.

Name

Principal Occupation

Matthew W. Morris

Chief Executive Officer

J. Allen Berryman

Chief Financial Officer, Secretary, Treasurer and Principal Financial Officer

John L. Killea

Chief Legal Officer

Nat Otis

Director of Investor Relations, Stewart title Guaranty Company

Steven M. Lessack

Group President, International Operations

Glenn Clements

Group President, Direct Operations

Jason Nadeau

Group President, Mortgage and Title Services

Ted Jones

Senior Vice President—Chief Economist, Stewart Title Guaranty Company

Information Regarding Ownership of the Company’s Securities by Participants

Except as described in this example. PleaseAnnex A or in this Proxy Statement, none of the persons listed above under “Directors and Nominees” or “Certain Officers and Other Employees” owns any Company securities of record that they do not write outsideown beneficially. The number of Company securities beneficially owned by directors and named executive officers as of March 2, 2015 is set forth under the designated areas. X 01M8IDheading “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in this Proxy Statement. The number of Company securities beneficially owned by the Company’s other officers and employees who are “participants” as of March 2, 2015 is set forth below.

Name

Company Securities Owned

John Killea

17,998

Ted Jones

3,127

Nat Otis

931

Information Regarding Transactions in the Company’s Securities by Participants

The following table sets forth purchases and sales of the Company’s securities during the past two years by the persons listed above under “Directors and Nominees” and “Certain Officers and Other Employees.” None of the purchase price or market value of the securities listed below is represented by funds borrowed or otherwise obtained for the purpose of acquiring or holding such securities.

Company Securities Purchased or Sold (February 2013 through February 2015)

Name

  Date  Number of Shares, Non-
Qualified Options and
Deferred Units
Acquired or (Disposed of)
   Transaction
Description

Arnaud Ajdler1

  May 6, 2014   1,963    7

Glenn C. Christenson2

  December 11,
2014
   5,000    1
  August 6, 2014   2,000    1
  August 4, 2014   2,000    1
  May 6, 2014   1,963    7
  May 5, 2014   2,500    1
  April 25, 2014   5,000    1
  April 25, 2014   2,500    1
  February 4, 2014   1,500    1
  February 3, 2014   2,000    1
  January 31, 2014   2,000    1
  January 30, 2014   1,500    1
  January 30, 2014   3,000    1

Robert L. Clarke

  May 6, 2014   3,467    7
  May 6, 2013   3,067    7

Laurie C. Moore

  May 6, 2014   1,963    7
  May 6, 2013   1,427    7

Dr. W. Arthur Porter

  May 6, 2014   1,963    7
  May 6, 2013   1,427    7

Thomas G. Apel

  May 6, 2014   1,963    7
  May 6, 2013   1,427    7

Frank Keating

  May 6, 2014   3,467    7
  May 6, 2013   3,067    7

Paul Hobby

  May 6, 2014   3,467    7
  May 6, 2013   1,427    7

Malcolm S. Morris

  March 10, 2014   (1,094  8
  January 15, 2014   (78,104  5
  January 15, 2014   78,1043   5
  April 30, 2013   (2,583  4
  April 29, 2013   (14,417  4
  April 26, 2013   (8,000  4
  March 10, 2013   (1,084  8

Stewart Morris, Jr

  June 13, 2014   (12,000  4
  March 10, 2014   (1,094  8
  February 19,
2014
   (10,000  4
  May 30, 2013   (10,000  4
  March 10, 2013   (1,084  8

1Does not include purchases and sales of the Company’s securities by Engine Capital, L.P.
2All shares owned by Christenson Family Trust, of which Mr. Christenson and his wife are trustees. Both Mr. Christenson and his wife can buy or sell assets of the trust.
3Shares transferred to Malcolm S. and Rebecca A. Morris Revocable Living Trust, and are now held by Mr. Morris indirectly.

Name

  Date  Number of Shares, Non-
Qualified Options and
Deferred Units
Acquired or (Disposed of)
   Transaction
Description

Matthew W. Morris

  December 31, 2014   (5,506  8
  May 7, 2014   13,944    3
  March 14, 2014   10,459    3
  March 10, 2014   (901  8
  March 8, 2013   (897  8
  February 20, 2013   11,538    3

J. Allen Berryman

  December 31, 2014   (2,560  8
  May 7, 2014   4,035    3
  March 14, 2014   4,539    3
  March 10, 2014   (597  8
  March 10, 2013   (592  8
  February 20, 2013   5,365    3

John L. Killea

  December 31, 2014   (2,377  8
  May 7, 2014   3,840    3
  March 14, 2014   4,319    3
  February 20, 2013   5,106    3

Steven M. Lessack

  December 31, 2014   (2,203  8
  May 7, 2014   3,098    3
  March 14, 2014   3,719    3
  February 20, 2013   4,615    3

Glenn H. Clements

  December 31, 2014   (3,098  8
  May 7, 2014   5,578    3
  March 14, 2014   5,578    3
  February 20, 2013   6,923    3

Jason R. Nadeau

  December 31, 2014   (4,542  8
  May 7, 2014   4,338    3
  March 14, 2014   6,508    3
  February 20, 2013   8,077    3

Ted Jones

  January 2, 2015   3    2
  January 2, 2014   4    2
  December 31, 2013   823    9
  March 25, 2013   1,057    9

Nat Otis

  May 7, 2014   931    9

(1)Open market acquisition.
(2)Shares acquired through dividend reinvestment.
(3)Grant of performance-based Restricted Stock.
(4)Open market sale.
(5)Gift of shares.
(6)Exercise of Options.
(7)Grant of unrestricted stock retainer
(8)Shares surrendered for federal tax withholdings
(9)Grant of Restricted Stock

Miscellaneous Information Concerning Participants

Except as described in this Annex A or in this Proxy Statement, neither any participant nor any of their respective associates or affiliates (together, the “Participant Affiliates”) is either a party to any transaction or series of transactions since January 1, U P X +2014 or has knowledge of any current proposed transaction or series of proposed transactions (i) to which the Company or any of its subsidiaries was or is to be a participant, (ii) in

which the amount involved exceeds $120,000 and (iii) in which any participant or Participant Affiliate had, or will have, a direct or indirect material interest. Furthermore, except as described in this Annex A or in this Proxy Statement, (a) no participant or Participant Affiliate, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns any securities of the Company or any securities of any subsidiary of the Company, and (b) no participant owns any securities of the Company of record but not beneficially.

Except as described in this Annex A or in this Proxy Statement, no participant or Participant Affiliate has entered into any agreement or understanding with any person with respect to any future employment by the Company or any of its affiliates or any future transactions to which the Company or any of its affiliates will or may be a party.

Except as described in this Annex A or in this Proxy Statement, there are no contracts, arrangements or understandings by any participant or Participant Affiliate since January 1, 2014 with any person with respect to any securities of the Company, including, but not limited to, joint ventures, loan or option arrangements, puts or calls, guarantees against loss or guarantees of profit, division of losses or profits, or the giving or withholding of proxies.

Except as described in this Annex A or in this Proxy Statement, and excluding any director or executive officer of the Company acting solely in that capacity, no person who is a party to an arrangement or understanding pursuant to which a nominee for election as director is proposed to be elected has any substantial interest, direct or indirect, by security holdings or otherwise, in any matter to be acted upon at the 2015 Annual Meeting.

LOGO

YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT.

Please take a moment now to vote your shares of Stewart Information Services Corporation common stock for the upcoming Annual Meeting Proxy Cardof Stockholders.

Authorized Signatures — This section must be completed for your vote to be counted. — Date and Sign BeloC wYOU CAN VOTE TODAY USING ONE OF THE FOLLOWING METHODS:

NOTE: Please sign as name appears hereon. Joint owners should each sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such. Date (mm/dd/yyyy) — Please print date below. Signature 1 — Please keep signature within the box. Signature 2 — Please keep signature within the box. + B Non-Voting Items A Proposals —

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Vote by Internet—Please accesshttps://www.proxyvotenow.com/stc and follow the instructions on the screen. Please note you must type an “s” after “http”.

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Mobile Device—Scan this QR code to vote with your mobile device.

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Vote by Telephone—Please call toll-free in the U.S. or Canada at1-866-395-9265, on a touch-tone phone. If outside the U.S. or Canada, call1-215-521-1346.Please follow the simple instructions. You will be required to provide the unique control number printed below.

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Vote by Mail—Please complete, sign, date and return the proxy card in the envelope provided to: Stewart Information Services Corporation, c/o Innisfree M&A Incorporated, FDR Station, P.O. Box 5155, New York, NY 10150-5155.

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You may vote by telephone or Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your telephone or Internet vote authorizes the named proxies to vote your shares in the same manner as if you had marked, signed and returned a proxy card.

q TO VOTE BY MAIL PLEASE DETACH PROXY CARD HERE AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDEDq

LOGOPlease mark your vote as in this examplePRELIMINARY PROXY MATERIALS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 6, 2015

The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR all theALL nominees listed andin Proposal 1, FOR Proposals 2 – 3. 2. Advisory approval regarding the compensation ofand 3, and Abstain on Proposal 4.

               FOR    AGAINST  ABSTAIN
1. 

Election of Directors

01. Arnaud Ajdler, 02. Robert L. Clarke, 03. Dr. W. Arthur Porter

04. Glenn C. Christenson, 05. Laurie C. Moore.

   2. Advisory approval regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers (Say-on-Pay). 

 

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    FOR ALL NOMINEES

 

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WITHHOLD AUTHORITY

 

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FOR ALL EXCEPT

 

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   3. Ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2015. LOGO  LOGO  LOGO
 

 

(INSTRUCTION: To withhold authority to vote for any individual nominee(s), mark the “For All Except” box above and write the number(s) of the nominee(s) on the line above.

   4. Advisory approval relating to the conversion of Class B Stock into Common Stock. LOGO  LOGO  LOGO
    

The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and of the Proxy Statement.

DATE2015
SIGNATURE
SIGNATURE

NOTE:Please sign as name appears hereon. Joint owners should each sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such.


YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT!

PLEASE VOTE TODAY.

SEE REVERSE SIDE FOR THREE EASY WAYS TO VOTE.

q TO VOTE BY MAIL PLEASE DETACH PROXY CARD HERE AND SIGN, DATE AND RETURN IN THE POSTAGE-PAID ENVELOPE PROVIDEDq

PRELIMINARY PROXY MATERIALS SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED MARCH 6, 2015

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This WHITE Proxy Card is being solicited by Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers (Say-on-Pay). 3. Ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013. The undersigned acknowledges receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and of the Proxy Statement. Change of Address — Please print new address below. Comments — Please print your comments below. 1. Election of Directors: IMPORTANT ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION For Against Abstain For Against Abstain Mark here to WITHHOLD vote from all nominees Mark here to vote FOR all nominees For All EXCEPT - To withhold authority to vote for any nominee(s), write the name(s) of such nominee(s) below. 01 - Catherine A. Allen 02 - Robert L. Clarke 03 - Dr. E. Douglas Hodo 04 - Laurie C. Moore 05 - Dr. W. Arthur Porter MMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext 000004 MR A SAMPLE DESIGNATION (IF ANY)Corporation.

ADD 1 ADD 2 ADD 3 ADD 4 ADD 5 ADD 6 ENDORSEMENT_LINE______________ SACKPACK_____________

1234 5678 9012 345 MMMMMMM 1 5 9 4 0 7 1 MR A SAMPLE (THIS AREA IS SET UP TO ACCOMMODATE
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STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION

PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS

ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 1, 2015

The undersigned appoints [Ken Anderson, Jr., John L. Killea and Steven I. Soffer], and each of them, as proxies with full power of substitution and revocation, to vote, as designated on the reverse side hereof, all of the Common Stock of Stewart Information Services Corporation which the undersigned has power to vote, with all powers which the undersigned would possess if personally present, at the annual meeting of stockholders thereof to be held on May 1, 2015, or at any adjournment(s) thereof.

Unless otherwise marked, this proxy will be voted FOR ALL nominees in Proposal 1, FOR Proposals 2 and 3, and ABSTAIN on Proposal 4, and in accordance with the discretion of the persons designated above, with respect to any other business that may properly come before the annual meeting.

(continued and to be signed on the reverse side)

140 CHARACTERS) MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MMMMMMMMM

C 1234567890 J N T C123456789


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qIF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.q Electronic Voting Instructions Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! Instead of mailing your proxy, you may choose one of the voting methods outlined below to vote your proxy. VALIDATION DETAILS ARE LOCATED BELOW IN THE TITLE BAR. Proxies submitted by the Internet or telephone must be received by 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on May 2, 2013. Vote by Internet Go to www.investorvote.com/STC Or scan the QR code with your smartphone Follow the steps outlined on the secure website Vote by telephone Call toll free 1-800-652-VOTE (8683) within the USA, US territories & Canada on a touch tone telephone Follow the instructions provided by the recorded message 514860-002 01Apr2013 04:43 QTA Page 1 . PROXY VOTING INSTRUCTIONS ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 3, 2013 The undersigned appoints Ken Anderson, Jr., John L. Killea and Steven I. Soffer, and each of them, as proxies with full power of substitution and revocation, to vote, as designated on the reverse side hereof, all the Common Stock of Stewart Information Services Corporation which the undersigned has power to vote, with all powers which the undersigned would possess if personally present, at the annual meeting of stockholders thereof to beheld on May 3, 2013, or at any adjournment thereof. Unless otherwise marked, this proxy will be voted FOR the election of the nominees named, FOR the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers, and FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013. (Continued and to be marked, dated and signed, on the other side) Proxy — STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION Important notice regarding the Internet availability of proxy materials for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The Proxy Statement and the 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K are available at: http://www.stewart.com/2013-annual-meeting qIF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE.q 514860-002 01Apr2013 04:43 QTA Page 2


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MMMMMMMMMMMM

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMM C123456789

IMPORTANT ANNUAL MEETING INFORMATION 000004 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext

ENDORSEMENT_LINE______________ SACKPACK_____________ 000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext

000000000.000000 ext 000000000.000000 ext MR A SAMPLE Electronic Voting Instructions DESIGNATION (IF ANY) Available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week! ADD 1 Instead of mailing your proxy, you may choose one of the voting ADD 2 methods outlined below to vote your proxy. ADD 3 VALIDATION DETAILS ARE LOCATED BELOW IN THE TITLE BAR. ADD 4 MMMMMMMMM ADD 5 Proxies 11:59 p. m. submitted , Eastern by Time, the on Internet May 1, or 2013. telephone must be received by ADD 6 Vote by Internet Go to www.investorvote.com/STC Or scan the QR code with your smartphone Follow the steps outlined on the secure website Vote by telephone Call toll free 1-800-652-VOTE (8683) within the USA, US territories & Canada on a touch tone telephone Using a black ink pen, mark your votes with an X as shown in X Follow the instructions provided by the recorded message this example. Please do not write outside the designated areas. Annual Meeting Proxy Card 1234 5678 9012 345

IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH ANDRETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. A Proposals — The Board of Directors recommends a vote FOR all the nominees listed and FOR Proposals 2 – 3. 1. Election of Directors: 01 - Catherine A. Allen 02 - Robert L. Clarke 03 - Dr. E. Douglas Hodo 04 - Laurie C. Moore 05 - Dr. W. Arthur Porter +

Mark here to vote Mark here to WITHHOLD For All EXCEPT - To withhold authority to vote for any

FOR all nominees vote from all nominees _____________________________________________ nominee(s), write the name(s) of such nominee(s) below. For Against Abstain For Against Abstain 2. Advisory approval regarding the compensation of 3. Ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent executive officers (Say-on-Pay). auditors for 2013. The Stockholders undersigned and acknowledges of the Proxy Statement. receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of B Non-Voting Items Change of Address — Please print new address below. Comments — Please print your comments below. C Authorized Signatures — This section must be completed for your vote to be counted. — Date and Sign Below NOTE: Please sign as name appears hereon. Joint owners should each sign. When signing as attorney, executor, administrator, trustee or guardian, please give full title as such.

Date (mm/dd/yyyy) — Please print date below. Signature 1 — Please keep signature within the box. Signature 2 — Please keepsignature within the box. C 1234567890 J N T MR A SAMPLE (THIS AREA IS SET UP TO ACCOMMODATE 140 CHARACTERS) MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND

MMMMMM 1 U P X 1 5 9 4 0 7 3 MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND MR A SAMPLE AND +

01M8KD


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The undersigned, as a named fiduciary for voting purposes, hereby directs Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Trustee for the Company’s 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan, to vote all shares of common stock of Stewart Information Services Corporation allocated to my account as of March 1, 2013, as directed. IF NOT OTHERWISE SPECIFIED, the shares will be voted FOR each of the nominees, FOR the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers, and FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013. As noted in the accompanying proxy statement, receipt of which is hereby acknowledged, if any of the listed nominees becomes unavailable for any reason and authority to vote for election of directors is not withheld, the shares will be voted for another nominee or other nominees to be selected by the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. I understand that I am to mail this confidential voting instruction card to Computershare acting as tabulation agent, or vote by Internet or telephone as described on proxy, and that my instructions must be received by Computershare no later than 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time two days prior to the annual meeting day. If my instructions are not received by that date, or if the voting instructions are invalid because this form is not properly signed and dated, the shares in my account will be voted in accordance with the terms of the Plan document. I acknowledge receipt of the Notice of Annual Meeting of Stockholders and of the Proxy Statement. Important notice regarding the Internet availability of proxy materials for the Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The Proxy Statement and the 2012 Annual Report on Form 10-K are available at: http://www.stewart.com/2013-annual-meeting IF YOU HAVE NOT VOTED VIA THE INTERNET OR TELEPHONE, FOLD ALONG THE PERFORATION, DETACH AND RETURN THE BOTTOM PORTION IN THE ENCLOSED ENVELOPE. Proxy — STEWART INFORMATION SERVICES CORPORATION - 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan PROXY VOTINGINSTRUCTIONS ANNUAL MEETING OF SHAREHOLDERS TO BE HELD ON MAY 3, 2013 The undersigned appoints Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., as Trustee for the Company’s 401(k) Salary Deferral Plan, as proxy with full power of substitution and revocation, to vote, as designated on the reverse side hereof, all the Common Stock of Stewart Information Services Corporation which the undersigned has power to vote, with all powers which the undersigned would possess if personally present, at the annual meeting of stockholders thereof to be held on May 3, 2013, or at any adjournment thereof. Unless otherwise marked, this proxy will be voted FOR the election of the nominees named, FOR the approval of the advisory resolution regarding the compensation of Stewart Information Services Corporation’s named executive officers, and FOR ratification of the appointment of KPMG LLP as Stewart Information Services Corporation’s independent auditors for 2013.

(Continued and to be marked, dated and signed, on the other side)