Each September we publish a review of how we used our clients’ votes over the previous 12 months. The full record, resolution by resolution, is available to every client on request. This is the summary.
In the year to 30 June 2026 we voted at 74 company meetings and on 1,108 resolutions. We supported management on 1,047 and voted against on 61, or 5.5%. We did not abstain on any resolution. We think an abstention tells a board nothing.
Pay was the largest single reason for opposition. We voted against 14 remuneration reports, mostly where bonuses had been paid in full in a year when shareholders had lost money, or where a new long-term incentive plan reset its targets lower without a clear reason. In each case we wrote to the chair of the remuneration committee before the meeting to explain our vote.
The second theme was board composition. We opposed the re-election of nine directors who sat on so many boards that we doubted they could give each one enough time. We also opposed the combined role of chair and chief executive at a UK engineering company we hold. After two meetings with the board, the company agreed to separate the roles, and an independent chair took up the post in May.
On climate, we voted on transition plans at six companies. We supported five. We opposed one, at a European materials business, because its targets for 2030 relied on technology it had not yet decided to buy. We have met the company twice since, and it will publish a revised plan next year.
Our bond holdings carry no votes, but they still give us a voice. In the credit strategy, we declined to buy three new bond issues during the year because the terms gave lenders too little protection if the company was sold. In one case the issuer improved the terms before the bonds were priced.
Stewardship is not a separate team at Wealth. The portfolio managers who own the shares make the voting decisions, because they know the companies well and they live with the results.
This article reflects the author’s views on the date of publication. It is not investment advice or a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Capital is at risk and past performance is not a guide to future returns.