BlackRock opens door for retail investors to vote in proxy battles
BlackRock will allow retail investors to vote on proxy battles for the first time as it fends off criticism that its stance on environmental, social and governance issues is at odds with some of its shareholders.
The world’s largest asset manager plans a pilot with UK pooled funds to enable their investors to vote on contested proposals in 2023. Larry Fink, BlackRock’s chief executive, said technology is enabling a “revolution in shareholder democracy” that will “transform the relationship between asset owners and companies” as he announced the plans on Wednesday.
BlackRock’s one-year-old Voting Choice programme already allows institutional investors holding $1.8tn in assets to decide how they want their shares to be voted, and the owners of $452bn have done so. The UK pilot marks the first time that BlackRock will offer the same opportunity to smaller investors.
Efforts to offer proxy voting choice to US small investors are complicated by laws that specify that the investment adviser of an American retail mutual or exchange traded fund is the one who votes the shares held by the fund.
This story originally appeared on: Financial Times - Author:Brooke Masters
