What Is Proxy Voting?

As shareholders in publicly traded companies, clients have the right to vote on high-level governance matters raised at company annual meetings. The voting process ensures that stakeholders are involved in decision-making and have a voice in shaping the future of a company.

How Does Proxy Voting Work?

Why Does Proxy Voting Matter?

What Is Clean Yield's Approach to Proxy Voting?

Portfolio Examples of Proxy Voting

Since very few shareholders actually attend annual meetings, votes are cast via the proxy voting system. This system allows investors not only to vote on routine governance decisions, but to support proposals that push companies to adopt more progressive policies on a range of environmental, social, and governance matters.

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How Does Proxy Voting Work?

In advance of its annual meeting, each company issues shareholders a proxy statement and corresponding ballot, which must be submitted by a stated deadline. The proxy statement summarizes each proposal to be voted on at the meeting, including the election of board members, approval of executive compensation plans, and environmental, social, and governance proposals put forth by activist investors.

Why Does Proxy Voting Matter?

Proxy voting gives social investors a powerful tool to pressure corporations to act more responsibly. While Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulations constrain the scope of the proposals that activist shareholders can put on the proxy ballot, social investors have been successful in winning majority votes on a range of issues. While these votes are non-binding, they send a strong message to corporate boards and executive teams about how their shareholders want the company to act.

Clean Yield and Proxy Voting

Our Approach Engaging Clients in Proxy Voting As a Tool for Social Change Season Timeline and Process

Our Approach

We are dedicated to ensuring that our clients’ best interests and values are reflected in their proxy ballots. Clean Yield’s custom set of proxy voting guidelines aligns with the social, environmental, and governance screening criteria we apply in our investment process. We also leverage the services of Institutional Shareholder Services to help evaluate corporate governance proposals put forth by company management to execute the votes on our clients’ behalf.

Engaging Clients in Proxy Voting

proxy voting engaging clients illustration

Clients may choose to vote their own proxies, but most delegate voting authority to Clean Yield in accordance with our proxy voting guidelines. Clean Yield partners with Institutional Shareholder Services — the leading corporate governance service provider that submits shareholder ballots per Clean Yield’s instructions. We diligently oversee every investment to maximize impact and financial performance, alleviating our clients from the daily concerns of asset management.

As a Tool for Social Change

Clean Yield votes proxies that adhere to our clients’ financial interests and values. First, we vote proxies on corporate governance issues in what we believe to be the best financial interests of our clients. Second, we vote proxies on social and environmental issues in a way that is consistent with our clients’ values (and our social and environmental screening criteria).

Season Timeline and Process

Proxy Voting in the Clean Yield Portfolio

Clean Yield has built a legacy of proxy voting. The following examples illustrate our commitment to clients and investments that move us toward a more just and sustainable society.