Proxy Insight has published their report on proxy voting in 2021. The most significant findings: The five largest institutional investors increased their support of environmental shareholder proposals by an average 13 percentage points between the 2020 and 2021 proxy seasons, compared with four percentage points for all investors.The top five backed 100% of climate transition…
Tag: institutional investors
Huge investor coalition urges governments to accelerate climate action | Corporate Secretary
A huge investor coalition has called on national governments to accelerate policy changes that will support investment in climate change solutions. A group of 587 investment firms with a collective $46 trillion in assets under management yesterday issued a statement urging governments to take a range of actions, from strengthening emissions targets to mandating climate…
Big investors demand annual vote on companies’ net zero plans | Financial Times
More than 50 large investors are demanding companies publish details of efforts to tackle climate change and give shareholders a vote on their plans, arguing that many businesses making “net zero” commitments for 2050 are doing little to act on them. JPMorgan Asset Management, M&G and 51 other investors, which together manage more than $14tn…
New blood at Wall Street’s old guard rattles Corporate America
This year marks a sea change as top funds throw more of their weight behind investor challenges to companies on environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues and put companies on notice by often choosing to publicize how and why they voted, a Reuters review of voting results and fund firms’ new disclosures shows. A record…
How Vanguard Looks at Shareholder Proposals
From the Veritas Compensation in Context newsletter, courtesy of John Galloway, how Vanguard evaluates shareholder proposals: We assess each proposal through a fiduciary lens. First we look for alignment with the Vanguard funds’ corporate governance principles in the company’s board composition, the board’s oversight of strategy and risk, executive compensation, and shareholder rights. We then…
Wake Up Call for Corporate Leaders on ESG, Sustainability, and Engagement
Edelman’s 2019 “Trust Barometer” shows a strong swing toward ESG and sustainability from investors. We believe the first of their conclusions listed below is misleading. It cannot be emphasized too strongly that sustainability by its very definition is not a trade-off for returns; it is essential for returns, both present value and long-term, as the…
Activists thought BlackRock, Vanguard were climate allies. Not now
In 2017, the two biggest U.S.-based fund managers, BlackRock and Vanguard — which control a combined $12 trillion in assets — both voted to require Exxon Mobil to produce a report on climate change. It was a seen as watershed moment showing what can occur when the biggest index funds punch their weight at the…
Why Isn’t Your Mutual Fund Sticking Up for You?
Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Leo E. Strine Jr. and Harvard Kennedy School professor Antonio Weiss want mutual funds to consider the same long-term issues raised in the BRT stakeholder statement: Growing inequality and stagnant wages are forcing a much-needed debate about our corporate governance system. Are corporations producing returns only for stockholders? Or are they…
Executive Compensation: The Role of Public Company Shareholders
Barbara Novick of BlackRock, Inc., one of the largest and most powerful institutional investors in the world, wrote about CEO pay and the role of shareholders. Of particular note is her assessment of proxy advisors, making it clear that proxy advisor clients appreciate the analysis and recommendations but have their own views. Proxy advisors are…
A Catch 22 for Asset Managers
Jasmin Sethi writes about the impact of concentrated voting power and calls for better disclosure of the exercise of ownership rights: The big three—BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard—are victims of their own size. As they have increased their assets under management, they have also increased their voting power as typically they vote the shares for…
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