Small Investors Support the Boards. But Few of Them Vote.
Small Investors Support the Boards. But Few of Them Vote.
It found that 91 percent of the shares owned by institutional investors —
but only 29 percent of those held by individuals — were voted during the most recent proxy season on director elections and shareholder proposals covering the full array of governance issues.
At the 32 companies whose pay programs failed to win majority support from shareholders this year,
individual investors were twice as likely as institutions to vote in favor of that compensation.
But if you examine the results of almost any annual shareholder meeting, it also becomes clear
that throngs of individual investors were absent this year in voting on directors and other governance issues.
It was conducted by Broadridge Financial Solutions, a technology
and data analytics firm and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditing and professional services firm, and it compared the votes of endowments, pension funds and mutual funds with those of retail investors at almost 3,400 annual meetings between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year.
The analysis found that even as more institutions are voting their shares against corporate management on environmental matters, executive pay
and board diversity, individuals’ votes are more likely to support the executives.
Some 66 percent of individuals’ shares were cast in support of companies whose pay plans
failed to win majority approval, compared with 32 percent of institutions’ shares.
A recent analysis of investor voting at annual shareholder meetings highlights a striking
contrast between the views of institutional investors and those of individuals.
It found that 91 percent of the shares owned by institutional investors —
but only 29 percent of those held by individuals — were voted during the most recent proxy season on director elections and shareholder proposals covering the full array of governance issues.
At the 32 companies whose pay programs failed to win majority support from shareholders this year,
individual investors were twice as likely as institutions to vote in favor of that compensation.
But if you examine the results of almost any annual shareholder meeting, it also becomes clear
that throngs of individual investors were absent this year in voting on directors and other governance issues.
It was conducted by Broadridge Financial Solutions, a technology
and data analytics firm and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the auditing and professional services firm, and it compared the votes of endowments, pension funds and mutual funds with those of retail investors at almost 3,400 annual meetings between Jan. 1 and June 30 of this year.
The analysis found that even as more institutions are voting their shares against corporate management on environmental matters, executive pay
and board diversity, individuals’ votes are more likely to support the executives.
Some 66 percent of individuals’ shares were cast in support of companies whose pay plans
failed to win majority approval, compared with 32 percent of institutions’ shares.
A recent analysis of investor voting at annual shareholder meetings highlights a striking
contrast between the views of institutional investors and those of individuals.