The Center for Political Accountability reported that support by the largest investors* for its model corporate political disclosure shareholder proposal increased to 75.6% in 2020 from 67.3% in 2019.
The model resolution asks companies to report on, and semiannually update, the following:
1. Policies and procedures for making, with corporate funds or assets, contributions and expenditures (direct or indirect) to (a) participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for public office, or (b) influence the general public, or any segment thereof, with respect to an election or referendum.2. Monetary and non-monetary contributions and expenditures (direct and indirect) used in the manner described above, including:
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- The identity of the recipient as well as the amount paid to each;
- The title(s) of the person(s) in the company responsible for decision-making.
Noteworthy additional statistics include:
- Of the 69 investors, 30 supported 100% of the political spending resolutions and eight supported none. 40 of the 69 increased their support from 2019 to 2020; eight decreased support.
- Eight investors: MetLife Advisers, Northern Trust Investments, Federated Investment Management, Jennison Associates, Wellington Management Company, JPMorgan Investment Management, T. Rowe Price Associates, MFS Investment Management — each increased their support by over 20%
- Average shareholder support for the proposal increased from 36.4% in 2019 to 41.9% in 2020.
*69 investors in Proxy Insight’s 100 largest investors by global AUM that voted at least five times on its model resolution in each of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 proxy seasons
Access additional resources on our Political Contributions and Disclosure page. This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!