Direct engagement with companies produces better results than shareholder resolutions at AGMs, an asset manager has argued. US investment house T Rowe Price, which runs approximately $1trn, stated in its annual ESG report that it preferred to engage one-to-one with companies to encourage positive changes rather than focus on shareholder campaigns at annual meetings. The […]
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Neuberger Berman commits to advance proxy disclosure Neuberger Berman has become one of the first major asset managers to commit to advance proxy voting disclosures. It announced this week that it would publicly state beforehand how it plans to vote on select proposals at upcoming AGMs. The initiative, called ‘NB25+’, will see the asset manager […]
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As the COVID19 lock-down continues, the UK’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Industrial Strategy has announced its intention to publish new regulations enabling companies to hold alternative AGMs for 2020. Speaking on Saturday, 28 March 2020, Secretary of State Alok Sharma, said that BEIS intends to introduce measures which will allow companies to hold AGMs […]
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An increasing number of UK-listed companies are cutting or suspending dividend payments in order to preserve cash and protect their balance sheets in response to the economic impact of coronavirus. The suspension of dividends will be a real worry for income-dependent investors such as pension funds. Companies that have suspended dividends include Crest Nicholson, Elementis, […]
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Shareholders lack confidence to hold companies to account Large swathes of shareholders are not voting on company resolutions because they do not believe their vote will make a difference, a report has suggested. The astonishing finding, from a poll conducted among 1,000 investors by The Share Centre, found that some investors were also unaware of […]
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PLSA Annual Voting Review 2018 As the 2019 AGM season approaches, the UK’s asset owner membership body, the PLSA has published its annual AGM Review. The report, which draws heavily on Minerva’s voting results and research data, highlights some of the key themes and developments from 2018’s voting season, as well as looking at long […]
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