Good morning.
More detail out this morning on the corporate proxy season, courtesy of our friends at Diligent. The most surprising finding is how thoroughly the “Big 3” investors—BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street—turned against environmental and social shareholder proposals in the past year. In the U.S., BlackRock’s support for E&S proposals dropped from 41.3% in the 2020-21 season, to 23.7% in 2021-22, to a mere 8.7% in 2022-23. Vanguard’s drop was equally precipitous, from 29.6% to 12% to a tiny 3% in the past year. And State Street went from 43.7% to 28.6% to 21.2%. Clear signs of the backlash.
So much for E&S. On the G front, there is a somewhat different story: all three firms stayed strong in their support for “say on pay” advisory votes, with votes remaining over 90%. Diligent’s Josh Black, who published the report, writes that after a period of “upheaval” including “the rise of ESG funds, a pandemic, polarization surrounding the 2020 U.S. election, and social movements centered on diversity, equity and inclusion” the “relationship between companies and their shareholders has returned to normal.” You can read the full report here.
