Voting
When we buy shares in a company, we gain the right to vote at the company’s shareholder meetings. This means that we have a say in director elections and important decisions that affect our investments.
Voting is one of our most important means of influence
When voting at shareholder meetings, we consider whether the board operates effectively and whether our shareholder rights are adequately protected. Our default position is to support the company while also expressing our positions and expectations. We have clear views on what company boards should look like, and we can vote against the board if the company does not conform to them.
How we vote
Every year we vote on 120,000 resolutions at more than 12,000 annual shareholder meetings.
We are transparent and predictable in terms of both how we vote and why we vote the way we do. We publish our voting intentions five days before each meeting.
When we vote against the board’s recommendation, we always give an explanation.
95
In 2023, we voted in line with board recommendations for 95 percent of all resolutions
Our general approach is to support board-backed proposals, as we participate in electing the board and entrust it with running the company. The rationale for votes against are expressed in our position papers and our global voting guidelines.
Top reasons for voting against management:
- Lack of board independence
- Combined chair/CEO
- Changes to bylaws or charter
We express our position on CEO remuneration. The board should ensure that the CEO’s remuneration is driven by long-term value creation for the company and its shareholders. We will continue to vote against disproportionate pay packages and pay practices that do not create value for shareholders.
Wilhelm Mohn
Global Head of Active Ownership
Our voting guidelines
With investments in more than 8,800 companies, the fund leaves most decisions to their board and management. This requires boards to do their job effectively, and management to have the right incentives. Our global voting guidelines set out principles for our voting which we believe will contribute to effective boards and good corporate governance.
How we vote on specific topics
Our position papers set out our views on specific topics and serve as a starting point for both our voting and our dialogue with companies and standard setters.
See how we vote in practice
Shareholder proposals on sustainability
We have a framework for voting on shareholder proposals related to sustainability. This ensures that we make considered and consistent voting assessments across all companies in the portfolio. When assessing proposals we consider three elements: materiality, prescriptiveness and relevant company- or market-specific circumstances.
Our voting in 2024
We voted at 8,277 shareholder meetings and on a total of 90,449 proposals in the first half of 2024. In this review, we look at trends and outcomes on key topics such as board composition and executive pay. We discuss how sustainability issues are reflected in our voting, including how we are pushing for progress on climate risk mitigation.