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Page 1 of 3 In early 2009, for the seventh consecutive year, the AFG polled its members to find out how they exercise their voting rights at general shareholder meetings.
The survey sample was made up of 50 asset management companies, which together represent nearly 85% of the French and foreign shares under management in France, whether in investment funds or under mandates.
Consistent with last year’s findings, one-third of the companies in the sample stated that they cast votes on shares held via investment funds (equity funds, balanced funds, etc.) as well as a portion of the shares held under mandates. The survey sample includes the top ten companies in terms of shares under management, 17 of the top 20, and 29 of the top 50.
The companies in the survey sample reported voting at nearly 11,150 general meetings (of 4,100 French issuers and 7,050 foreign issuers), with several management companies voting at the same meetings. This works out to some 135,000 votes, or an average of 12 votes per meeting.
The main survey findings
- Instances of voting at AGMs broke down as follows: 37% for French issuers and 63% for issuers of other nationalities.
- Half the companies in the sample report that they pursue a policy of active dialogue with issuers, which influences their governance practices.
- Institutional investors give are issuing an increasing number of specific voting instructions and paying closer attention to the voting patterns of the management companies representing them.
- On average, management companies voted against at least one resolution at 57% of the meetings attended, up slightly from previous years.
- Among the reasons cited by management companies for voting against resolutions in 2008, the two issues that saw the largest increase were board appointments and executive compensation.
- 80% of the sample companies relied on the AFG’s recommendations and alerts, the same proportion as in 2007.
Download the former surveys (FR).
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