NEW
YORK, Sept. 20, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --
Shareholders sent strong signals to management and activists alike:
more directors failed to attain majority support and the average
support for environmental and social proposals fell as well,
according to the ProxyPulse™ report released today by global
Fintech leader, Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
(NYSE:BR). At the same time, growing numbers of individual
investors entered the market.
"Shareholder support was at a 5-year low for management and
shareholder proposals alike," said Chuck
Callan, Broadridge SVP Regulatory Affairs, a co-author of
the report. "The proportion of company shares held by
individual investors rose to 31.5%, the highest in 5 years, and
more of them are voting."
Specifically, the data show that:
- Expectations of Directors Are Increasing: 654 directors
failed to attain majority support, the greatest number in five
years.
- Support Has Declined for Say-on-Pay: Support for
Say-on-Pay proposals (at 86.3% on average) was the lowest in five
years.
- More Shareholder Proposals and Less Support: While there
were more shareholder proposals (588) than at any time over the
past five years, shareholder support fell to 24.6% on average (a
10-percentage point drop from last season).
- The Climate Has Cooled for ESG: Support for
environmental and social proposals decreased to 25.5%, on average,
from 30% the prior season and was the lowest in five years.
- More Retail Investors Are Finding Their Voice: Voting
participation by individual shareholders increased to 29.6% from
29.4% last year.
The 2023 Proxy season was notable as well for the continued wide
divergence in voting sentiment between individual and institutional
shareholders. Individual investors cast only 16% of their
votes in favor of environmental and social proposals while
institutions cast 25.5% in favor.
Preference for Virtual Shareholder Meetings Remains
High
Companies and shareholders continue to realize the benefits of
online meetings and technology continues to advance the trend. The
number of virtual-only meetings was close to the all-time high at
the height of the pandemic, and few companies are returning to
in-person only meeting format.
In the first six months of 2023, there were 1,815 "virtual only"
meetings, close to the all-time during the pandemic (1,832 in 2022
and 1,891 in 2021).
The Broadridge ProxyPulse™ report highlights voting trends over
the past five proxy seasons. Download the full
report.
About ProxyPulse
ProxyPulse™ is based in part on
analysis of company Form 8-K filings from EDGAR and Broadridge's
processing of shares held in street name, which processes over 750
million equity positions. Shareholder voting trends during the
proxy season represent a snapshot in time and may not be predictive
of full-year results.
About Broadridge
Broadridge Financial Solutions
(NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with over $6
billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that
powers investing, corporate governance, and communications to
enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven
solutions that drive business transformation for 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. Our technology and
operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more
than $10 trillion of equities, fixed income and other
securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work®,
Broadridge is part of the S&P 500® Index,
employing over 14,000 associates in 21 countries. For more
information about us, please visit broadridge.com.
Broadridge Media contact:
Tatjana Kulkarni
+1 203-285-0766
Tatjana.kulkarni@broadridge.com
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SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.