UK retail investors are taking a more active role in their holdings, according to data showing a surge in voting participation among shareholders.

Some 210,000 shareholder votes were processed by fund supermarket Interactive Investor in 2022, a 30 per cent increase on the previous year.

The boost came in the first full year since the platform required its clients to opt out of receiving notifications about upcoming votes

“Private investors can have a powerful collective influence over a company’s conduct and future direction through their vote, should they wish to use it,” said Richard Wilson, chief executive of Interactive Investor. “Sometimes, you just need to remove barriers and red tape.”

Data from Interactive Investor suggested there was an appetite among retail investors to participate in shareholder democracy. However, the slow pace of digitisation and nominee structure has been labelled a barrier to participation.

Interactive Investor moved to an opt-out system for notifications in November 2021, which meant customers were automatically notified about fundraising, upcoming votes and events such as AGMs.

Shareholder participation on the rise in the UK | Financial Times