ShareAction’s annual Voting Matters report, released on Tuesday, found that four of the world’s largest asset managers – BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, State Street Global Advisors and Vanguard – voted against shareholder proposals aimed at protecting human rights, nature and climate last year.
ShareAction claim that had asset managers supported shareholder proposals put forward at 190 companies, it may have helped to improve conditions for low-paid workers struggling with the global cost-of-living crisis and driven climate action at a time when impacts from warming are devastating communities worldwide.
Ten asset managers, including the four largest in the world, voted against such proposals put forward at Lockheed Martin, RTX and Northorp Grumman, which aimed to improve transparency over the firms’ lobbying activities and human rights impact.
Asset managers also argue that they engage with the board on a host of matters including ESG, rather than vote for what they would consider prescriptive asks put forward in shareholder resolutions.
Amid corporate America’s shift back towards more conservative political and social stances, the report noted a split between asset managers voting on shareholder resolutions in the US and Europe last year.
