Voting Trends
Voting Methods
- 48% of shareholders are increasingly choosing to vote directly rather than nominating a proxy.
- Voting by show of hands has taken it's largest dive in four year, while digital polling continues to increase
- 74.2% show of hands outside the ASX300 remains strongest
- 96.15% digital polling uptake is strongest in ASX50
Voting Timing
The majority of voting is still occurring at the pre-meeting stage, but in 2018 ASX attendance increased from 0.15% to 0.18%. This is the first significant increase since 2014.
Contentious Topics
The most contentious issue from the 2018 AGM season was executive remuneration.
Shareholder concerns around climate-related issues are also on the rise.
The 2018 AGM season saw a record number of listed companies receive a first strike
The two-strikes rule was introduced in 2011. Under the rule, if shareholders vote down a company’s executive remuneration package two years in a row, the board may be voted out of office. Read more
- 9 ASX50 companies received a first strike
- 2 ASX300 companies received a second strike
- One third of companies receiving a strike received over 50% 'against' votes
Key Takeaways
With shareholder activism on the rise, to increase your chances of securing positive outcomes at your AGM, it is increasingly important to:
- Engage early and regularly with your stakeholders
- Give shareholders the option to vote via their preferred channel
- Consider the key merging trends that are taking shape in 2019
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