In its Q2 2019 Investment Stewardship Report (Americas), among other noteworthy engagement and voting highlights (all of which are a worthwhile read), BlackRock cites examples of its votes against specific E&S shareholder proposals to illustrate its vote decision-making approach, which takes into account a number of relevant factors including the company's position, approach, and disclosure on the topic; the proposal topic's materiality relative to the company's particular facts & circumstances; whether the proposal's "ask" is more appropriately within management's or the board's purview in lieu of investors'; and how the proposal is structured (e.g., properly tailored or overbroad). The examples support a well-considered analysis of shareholder proposals in lieu of a one-size-fits-all approach.
In view of the fact that most annual meetings are held in the second quarter, US-specific voting statistics for 2019 compared to Q2 2018 results are also share-worthy:
Election of directors and related proposals garnered the highest percentages (by proposal type) of BlackRock's votes against management in Q2 2019 - at 9% of management proposals (compared to 8% globally) and 12% of shareholder proposals (compared to 4% globally).
More broadly across the Americas region (including Latin and South America), 93% of BlackRock's Q2 engagements covered Governance topics; 11% addressed Environmental topics; and 8% covered Social topics.
Access additional information & resources on our Institutional Investors and Proxy Season pages. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!