How investors are voting on ESG shareholder proposals

Here’s an excerpt from this note by Gayathiri Sri Rangan about the latest report from ShareAction about how investors are voting on ESG proposals:

Asset managers are refusing to contribute to improve the ESG performances at listed companies, according to NGO ShareAction. ShareAction explored how 65 asset managers voted across 146 environmental and social shareholders resolutions, where asset owners have been encouraged to use the findings to inform their future asset manager selection, monitoring and reviewing process. (2021 ‘Voting Matters’ report.)

Here are the results:

– Initiative members of CA100+ (Climate Action 100+) and NZAM (Net Zero Asset Managers) voted against almost a third (⅓) of environmental resolutions.
– Seven asset managers voted on fewer than 60% of corporate resolutions, yet five of these are CA100+ members.
– Asset managers supported relatively more environmental resolutions than social-focused resolutions, where only 15% of assessed social resolutions received the most support, particularly in resolutions on diversity.
– Institutional Shareholder Services recommended that investors support 75% of assessed shareholder resolutions and Glass Lewis recommended that investors should support 44%.
– Each of the six asset managers (BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity Investments, State Street Global Advisors, Capital Group and JP Morgan Asset Management) supported fewer than 40% of the resolutions they voted on.