Proxy-voting system discussed at SEC roundtable

On November 15, the Securities and Exchange Commission held a roundtable to discuss improvements in proxy-voting systems – a key process to drive both the participation of investors in shareholders’ meetings and influence on the corporate practices adopted by the companies. According to the article published in the Pension & Investments website, the roundtable, announced in July, featured 15 panelists with a range of viewpoints.
Among the improvements discussed is the creation of a universal proxy – which would list all board nominees. Today, the nominees have to agree to include their names in the proxy card, what means that the dissident group cannot include the names of the other group’s nominees and vice versa. With that, investors are not allowed to split their vote without having to physically attend a given meeting. The discussions also touched on areas to improve vote confirmation systems and the possible use of the blockchain technology.
The article published in the Pension & Investments website is available here.