SHAREHOLDER VOTING PARTICIPATION INCREASES AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC
SHAREHOLDER VOTING PARTICIPATION INCREASES AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC
On November 10, 2020, Broadridge Financial Solutions in conjunction with PwC published their latest ProxyPulse (the “Report”). The Report analyzes shareholder proxy voting of 3,844 public companies from January 1, 2020 through June 30, 2020 and provides insight into how shareholders may engage on certain matters in the future. The Report also reveals shareholder voting participation rose to a 14-year high during this time, despite the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Report, the spike in shareholder participation may be attributable to the over 500% increase in companies holding virtual shareholder meetings.
Additional takeaways from the Report:
• Virtual shareholder meetings increased from 248 in 2019 to 1,494 in 2020;
• Institutional investor voting increased to 92% in 2020 compared to 90% in 2019;
• Shareholder proposals submitted for a vote increased to 440 in 2020 from 420 in 2019;
• Shareholder support for environmental and social proposals, as well as corporate political spending proposals increased; and
• Support for say-on-pay decreased for the second time in a row.
The full report can be found here.
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