SeekInvest Academy

Public pension funds present a principal-agent conflict of interest in voting proxies. Adopting pass-though voting is a potential solution.

ESG ratings are attracting increasing scrutiny. Not every investor has the same views about the underlying issues nor do they place the same weight on them. Fractional trading now allows investments aligned with an investor’s values.

The ESG reporting world is morning on ESG reporting standards are rapidly converging on a global framework and standards.  In June, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) announced their merger to form the Value Reporting Foundation. Last year SASB, the IIRC, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Climate […]

Global ESG reporting standard disclosures are coming and it is good for all investors Consistent, clear global ESG reporting disclosures are critical for investors.  The focus on materiality and relevance is also essential. The UN Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI) were launched in 2006 with 63 signatories, who collectively managed $6.5 trillion in assets.  […]

Learning from the European Shareholder Rights Directive Proxy voting is an important part of the investment process, yet the current experience for retail investors is cumbersome and outdated. With improvements to the proxy voting process, we can empower retail investors and improve overall confidence in the markets. Learn more about how we can make proxy […]

Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) Money is flowing into companies and funds that cloak themselves in a sustainability mantle. Anyone looking for capital might be incentivized to align themselves with this hot trend, which means how firms and funds talk about their sustainability activities and how they measure impact is very important.  Transparent, measurable, comparable […]

Since the 2008 financial crisis, the principal-agent conflict, as defined in the agency theory, has further increased due to the rise of passive management. To manage these increasing conflicts, individual index fund investors need to be empowered and enabled to influence the proxy voting process.

Index fund managers have an outsized influence on proxy voting, which gives them incredible market power.

Can the largest investment managers truly judge what is in the true shareholders’ best interests? The ExxonMobil vote demonstrated the power that the passive managers have over the companies they own through proxy voting.  Without the passive investment managers coming off the bench to vote for new directors, Engine No. 1 had no real hope […]

Shareholder voting rights today Shareholder voting rights have not been a priority for investors or asset managers. Voting as a shareholder, or proxy voting, is not like voting as a citizen. The structure of index funds separates the shareholder’s decision-making authority from the companies that they own, i.e., the fund’s investors do not have the […]