Document Type
Report
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
Accountability of corporate boards to shareowners rests in large part on the integrity of the system by which investors vote their proxy ballots. Shareowners rely on the vote to affect the governance of a company; corporate directors see the vote as a barometer of investor confidence in board stewardship. Outcomes determine the fate of director tenure, mergers, acquisitions, capital raising, remuneration plans and other critical decisions with sometimes profound consequences for stakeholders and the marketplace.
However, this briefing finds that the proxy voting system in the US and other markets is chronically subject to criticism that it is short on integrity sufficient to ensure trust. Parties involved are institutional investors, agents such as proxy advisory services, and intermediaries charged with transmitting ballots. Threats include conflicts of interest, opacity, technical faults in the chain by which ballots are transmitted, and a shortage of resources devoted to informed decision-making.
Recommended Citation
Meagan Thompson-Mann,
Voting Integrity: Practices for Investors and the Global Proxy Advisory Industry,
(2009).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.columbia.edu/global_markets_corporate_ownership/33
Comments
Policy Briefing 3