NEW YORK, May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The recent rise and
influence of the individual investor has rippled across financial
markets over the past 12 months, presenting companies with a unique
opportunity to engage new investors like never before. A new survey
from Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), the global Fintech
leader, highlights how new and younger retail investors are
thinking about investing and this year's proxy season.
This new survey found that investors are specifically paying
attention to ESG issues. Survey respondents said that social
issues, such as diversity and environmental issues regarding how
companies are managing climate change, are the two matters they are
most interested in expressing their opinion on through proxy
voting. Sixty-seven percent of investors surveyed believe that
companies they invest in should take active steps to address
environmental concerns, such as climate change, and 62% believe
those companies should address social challenges, such as gender,
ethnic, and racial diversity and inclusion. Additionally, the
survey found that 46% of millennial investors (ages 25-40), the
highest percentage of any generation, say they will vote their
proxy in 2021.
Broadridge's Proxy Season 2021 Investor Sentiment Study,
conducted in collaboration with Engine Group, surveyed
approximately 1,000 individual investors with investment or
brokerage accounts about their proxy voting and investing habits,
including their motivations for voting, the issues they are most
interested in voting on, and their use of technology. The study
sheds light on the sentiments of a new wave of retail investors,
following a year that saw more than 10 million new brokerage
accounts open, according to research from JMP Securities.
"The recent rise of the individual investor has been driven by
technology, mobile and zero fee commissions," said Martin Koopman, President, Bank Broker-Dealer,
Investor Communication Solutions at Broadridge. "The survey data
shows that newer and younger investors want their investments
aligned with their values especially when it comes to ESG-related
issues. We are also seeing these new investors look to their
advisors, brokers and fund managers for technology solutions that
make it easier for them to vote their proxies with their
values."
Supportive of ESG-Related Issues
Asked what issues they would be most interested in voicing their
opinion on through proxy voting, respondents named social issues,
such as diversity on the company board (43%) and environmental
issues (41%), followed by approving or rejecting M&A (40%),
executive/CEO compensation (35%), general corporate governance
(33%) and appointing the Board of Directors (32%).
Tapping into the New Wave of Individual Investors
The Proxy Season 2021 Investor Sentiment Study showed that
respondents with two years or less of investing experience are the
most active traders, with 43% trading at least once a week. Their
investment decisions largely stem from information they receive
from reading or watching the news (35%), friends (34%), family
(31%) and social media (30%).
This new wave of retail investors say they are going to be
engaged in the proxy process this year. Thirty-nine percent of
investors with two years of investing experience or fewer said they
will definitely vote their proxy. Of the newer investors who plan
to vote their proxy this year, 38% feel it's their responsibility
to vote while 42% say they plan to vote because they want to have a
voice on issues that are important to them.
With mobile trading taking off, investors are also willing to
vote their proxy on this platform. Seventy-five percent of
investors would be more likely to vote their proxy if they knew
they could do so through a mobile app, including 88% of Gen Z
investors (ages 18-24), 92% of millennial investors, and 89% of
investors with two years of experience or less.
New Tools for a New Generation
The Proxy Season 2021 Investor Sentiment Study found that
investors are looking to their brokers, fund managers and advisors
to educate them on the proxy voting process. Proxy voting provides
a natural opportunity for brokers and financial advisors to further
develop client relationships, a touchpoint where clients are
seeking education and advice.
Brokers and financial advisors should note that 67% of
respondents said they would like their advisor to spend time
explaining the process of proxy voting and discussing the issues
voted on at annual general meetings. Seventy-nine percent of
respondents would be interested in pre-filling their voting
preferences on certain issues, a process called Advanced Voting
Instructions.
Investors are also seeking more ways to vote through their fund
providers. Among surveyed investors who held mutual funds or
ETFs:
- 65% of investors believe that as a mutual fund or ETF
shareholder, they should have more of a say about how their fund
votes at annual shareholder meetings, including 62% of Gen Z
investors and 75% of millennials
- 72% of investors said they would be more likely to invest in a
fund if they were given the option to vote on issues most important
to them, including 77% of Gen Z investors and 89% of
millennials
Investor Education
With the recent increase in stock record growth and newer and
younger investors entering the market, Broadridge has updated
https://www.shareholdereducation.com/ with bold new visuals
and more user-friendly snackable content. The site educates
investors on proxy voting, the impact it can have and the mechanics
of voting.
Along with providing educational information, Broadridge has a
history of developing technology and solutions that enhance and
ease the retail investor experience; from updating
proxyvote.com to newly designed vote instruction forms to
enhanced emails to a mobile app for proxy voting to virtual
shareholder meeting technology. Broadridge enables better financial
lives by providing investors with more ways to vote either online,
by phone or mail, or with the ProxyVote app.
Methodology
On behalf of Broadridge, Engine Group
conducted an online survey of 1,002 investors ages 18 and older
from March 11-16, 2021. All
respondents currently have one or more investment or brokerage
accounts where they can buy, sell, or hold stocks, bonds, mutual
funds, or ETFs. The survey excluded investors who solely invest
through a workplace-sponsored retirement account, such as a
401(k).
About Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:
BR), a global Fintech leader with over $4.5
billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure
that powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to
enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven
solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and
public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global
communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking
thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions
of individual and institutional investors around the world. In
addition, Broadridge's technology and operations platforms underpin
the daily trading of on average more than U.S. $10 trillion of equities, fixed income and
other securities globally. A certified Great Place to
Work®, Broadridge is a part of the S&P
500® Index, employing over 12,000 associates in 17
countries. For more information about us and what we can do for
you, please visit www.broadridge.com.
Contact:
Sarah
Rutledge
Prosek Partners for Broadridge
(212) 279-3115
srutledge@prosek.com
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SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.