Do you vote your own proxies? Or do you delegate that duty to your investment managers? If so, do you always know how they vote? You should know; as a fiduciary, it is your duty to know how proxies are voted and to ensure they are always voted in the best interests of the beneficiaries.
Under the old rules, this was often times a daunting task. However, rules introduced in 2003 have provided the instructions for managers to create proxy voting and reporting policies and procedures, as well as making access to these records available to shareholders.
Beyond being a clearly defined fiduciary duty, why is this such an important issue? Because it gives shareholders more ammunition to positively affect change. While litigation can be both costly and difficult to find real success, ensuring proxies are always voted to the benefit of the shareholder forces good corporate governance.
View Blaine's most recent Fiduciary Corner column in InvestmentNews for more information on proxy voting.
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