Voting
An important means of influence
When we buy shares in a company, we gain the right to vote at the company’s shareholder meetings. This means that we have a say in director elections and important decisions that affect our investments. Our default position is to support the company while also expressing our positions and expectations. We have clear views on what company boards should look like, and we can vote against the board if the company does not conform to them.
How we vote
We are transparent and predictable in terms of both how we vote and why we vote the way we do. We publish our voting intentions five days before each meeting. When we vote against the board’s recommendation, we always give an explanation.
We express our position on CEO remuneration. The board should ensure that the CEO’s remuneration is driven by long-term value creation for the company and its shareholders. We will continue to vote against disproportionate pay packages and pay practices that do not create value for shareholders. – Wilhelm Mohn, Global Head of Corporate Governance
Our voting in practice
Every year we vote on more than 120,000 resolutions at more than 12,000 annual shareholder meetings. Learn how our voting works in practice.
Our voting guidelines
With investments in more than 8,800 companies, the fund leaves most decisions to their board and management. This requires boards to do their job effectively, and management to have the right incentives. Our global voting guidelines set out principles for our voting which we believe will contribute to effective boards and good corporate governance.
How we vote on specific topics
Our position papers set out our views on specific topics and serve as a starting point for both our voting and our dialogue with companies and standard setters.
Our voting in first half 2023
We voted at 8,522 shareholder meetings in the first half of 2023 and on a total of 94,731 proposals. In this review, we look at trends and outcomes, including on key topics like board composition and executive pay, and on shareholder proposals on a range of topics, including climate change and human rights.
Shareholder proposals on sustainability
We have a framework for voting on shareholder proposals related to sustainability. This ensures that we make considered and consistent voting assessments across all companies in the portfolio. When assessing proposals we consider three elements: materiality, prescriptiveness and relevant company- or market-specific circumstances.
Previous votes
No to higher CEO compensation in Walt Disney
In March 2021 we voted against the board's recommendation on CEO remuneration in Walt Disney. Remuneration plans should be driven by long-term value creation.
No to a Domino's board without women
In 2020 we voted against a shareholder proposal in Domino's Pizza Group due the the lack of women on the board. For the general meeting in 2021, the company proposed three new candidates to its board - all women.
Requirements for managing climate risk
In April 2021 we voted against the Chair of the Mexican food producer Bachoco due to poor climate risk management.