Among the many noteworthy statistics and trends highlighted in Broadridge’s ProxyPulse report based on the firm’s analysis of annual meetings held January 1 – June 30 for each of the past five proxy seasons are these:
- Institutional and retail ownership have held relatively steady, although institutional investor ownership declined to a 5-year low of 68.3% compared to 70.5% in 2020. Retail investor ownership reached a 10-year high nearing 32% in 2024, which Broadridge attributes to the growth of managed accounts and younger investors entering the markets.
- Retail investor voting was nominally higher than in the two preceding seasons at 29.8% in 2024, while institutional investor participation declined to a 5-year low at 77.8% compared to 84.5% in 2020.
- Support for environmental and social shareholder proposals from both retail and institutional investors dropped to 5-year lows in the 2024 season at 14.8% and 22.4%, respectively.
- Support for political spending shareholder proposals also declined for both retail and institutional investors, at 18.3% and 24.1%, respectively, in 2024, compared to highs of 22.6% in 2020 and 45.3% in 2021 for retail holders and institutional holders, respectively.
- The number of directors who failed to attain majority voter support fell to a 4-year low at just over 2%.