Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

Thursday, February 11, 2021

2021 Proxy Season Preview and Shareholder Voting Trends (2017-2020) builds on a comprehensive review of resolutions submitted by investors at Russell 3000 companies to provide insights into the new season of annual general meetings (AGMs). The data and analysis include trends in the number and topics of shareholder proposals, the level of support received by those proposals when put to a vote, and the types of proposal sponsors.

In particular, this post provides insights for what’s ahead in four key areas that promise to be the focus of investor attention in 2021: virtual shareholder meetings, environmental issues, human capital management, and board diversity.

The historical analysis across a large index of companies such as the Russell 3000 helps to plot the trajectory of shareholder demands and to gain helpful insights into the voting season ahead.

Read the report here.

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Matteo Tonello is Managing Director of ESG Research at The Conference Board, Inc. This post relates to 2021 Proxy Season Preview and Shareholder Voting Trends (2017-2020), an annual benchmarking study and online dashboard published by The Conference Board and ESG data analytics firm ESGAUGE, in collaboration with leadership advisory and search firm Russell Reynolds Associates and Rutgers Law School Center for Corporate Law and Governance.