T. Rowe Price's updated engagement policy includes a noteworthy discussion of its perspective on engagement, proxy voting, and investment decision-making, which collectively describe the range of activities and choices it considers in fulfilling its stewardship responsibilities. Both engagement and proxy voting are aimed at positively influencing company practices to increase the likelihood of the company's outperformance relative to its peers; however, influence via engagement on an ongoing basis in lieu of an annual proxy vote, which does not necessarily reflect (among other things) ongoing engagement efforts or decisions to exit or underweight a stock, is the preferred tool. In view of this perspective, T. Rowe justifiably denounces comparisons among actively and passively managed funds based on how often they vote against board recommendations.Also notable is the significantly expanded list (compared to its prior engagement policy) of investors/investor associations with which T. Rowe collaborates on industry-wide initiatives.
See our recent report: "T. Rowe Price Summarizes Proxy Voting Activity & Approach" and additional information & resources on our Institutional Investors page.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!