HomeAbout usProjectsPublicationsNewslettersConferencesMediaNewsContactSearchLogin
News
Search
Sign up for Newsletter
9 July 2009
SRI-Advisor: Canadian Mutual Funds Continue to Vote Against Shareowner Proposals
Source: www.sri-adviser.com

by Robert Kropp

Study finds that SRI funds offered by mainstream fund companies vote in favor of management, even on core ESG issues.

SocialFunds.com -- A recently published study by the Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE) and Fund Votes found that while Canadian mutual funds were more likely to oppose management nominees for boards of directors in 2008, the majority of mutual funds continued to vote overwhelmingly in favor of management proposals, and against proxy items proposed by shareowners.

The report, entitled Proxy Voting by Canadian Mutual Funds, analyzed votes cast on 5,560 proxy ballots of 178 companies, by 154 funds in 21 fund families that collectively manage 85% of mutual fund assets under management in Canada. Included in the analysis were the voting patterns of 31 socially responsible investing (SRI) funds in 9 fund families.

According to the report, "most Canadian mutual fund families continue to vote in a management—friendly manner." Of the fund families analyzed, Fidelity supported less than 2% of shareowner proposals, the smallest percentage in the study. Other mutual fund families whose support for shareowner proposals was very low included AIC and Mclean Budden.

The report found that three SRI funds—Inhance, Meritas, and Northwest & Ethical—supported shareowner proposals at least 40% of the time, and voted against management proposals on at least 20% of proxy ballots.

However, when it came to the voting patterns of SRI funds sold by diversified fund companies, the report found that proxy voting patterns were the same as in mainstream funds offered by the same companies. "This is often the case even for shareholder proposals asking companies to be more attentive about the impacts of their operations on human rights and the environment," the report stated.

Laura O’Neill, SHARE’s Director of Law and Policy, said, "When you invest in a fund from an SRI family, you can count on very progressive proxy voting. We found that in most cases, an SRI product managed within a non-SRI fund family votes in the same management friendly way for all its funds."
News
19 June 2009
Responsible Investor: London hedge fund hires Trillium CIO Seitchik in ESG push
15 June 2009
Telegraph: 'Forest footprint' will show investors which companies care about the rainforests
13 June 2009
Business Scotsman: Investors keep ethical values
9 June 2009
FT: Indonesia launches responsible investment index
8 June 2009
The Straits Times: Eco-friendly investment index in Indonesia
7 June 2009
Pensions & Investments: UBS getting Trucost research data
5 June 2009
SocialFunds: US SEC Forms Investor Advisory Committee which includes the social investment community
4 June 2009
SRI-Adviser: Investments in Clean Energy Are Hampered by Financial Crisis
3 June 2009
SocialFunds: Investors Must Lead Efforts to Reduce Climate Change Risks
2 June 2009
The National: Private equity has crucial role to shape new world
[1]​[2]​[3]​[4]​[5]​[6]​[7]​[8]​[9]​[10]​[11]​[12]​[13]​[14]​[15]​[16]​[17]​[18]​[19]​[20]​[21]​[22]​[23]​[24]​[25]​[26]​[27]​[28]​[29]​[30]​[31]​[32]​[33]​[34]​[35]​[36]​[37]​[38]​[39]​[40]​[41]​[42]​[43]​[44]​[45]​[46]​[47]​[48]​[49]​[50]​[51]​[52]​[53]​[54]​[55]​[56]​[57]​[58]​[59]​[60]​[61]​[62]​[63]​[64]​[65]​[66]​[67]​[68]​[69]​[70]​[71]​[72]​[73]​[74]​[75]​[76]​[77]​[78]​[79]​[80]​[81]​[82]​[83]​[84]​[85]​[86]​[87]​[88]​[89]​[90]​[91]​[92]​[93]​[94]​[95]​[96]​[97]​[98]​[99]​[100]​[101]​[102]​[103]​[104]​[105]​[106]​[107]​[108]​[109]​[110]​[111]​[112]​[113]​[114]​[115]​[116]​[117]​[118]​[119]​[120]​[121]​[122]​[123]​[124]​[125]​[126]​[127]​[128]​[129]​[130]​[131]​[132]​[133]​[134]​[135]​[136]​
Sustainable Investment Research Platform
Provided by Webforum