BlackRock to extend proxy voting to retail investors in largest ETF
Investors in BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF will be asked to choose among seven different general policies ranging from voting generally with management to prioritising Catholic values or ESG factors.
The expansion of voting choice for the ETF would bring $2.3trn of BlackRock's total index equity AUM in scope for participation in BlackRock Voting Choice, more than half of its index equity AUM globally.
BlackRock has joined fellow passive giants State Street and Vanguard in experimenting with ways to involve ordinary investors in voting on shareholder proposals, at a time when their collective influence on US companies has come under fire from both left and right.
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Investors in BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF will be asked to choose among seven different general policies ranging from voting generally with management to prioritising Catholic values or ESG factors.
Investors can also choose to authorise BlackRock to vote on their behalf. Customers will not be able to cast specific votes on individual companies.
This proposed expansion of proxy voting will be subject to iShares Board approval and, if passed later this year, is expected to be in effect for the 2024 proxy voting season.
BlackRock will use this pilot as an opportunity to evaluate investor interest, the necessary proxy voting infrastructure and overall user experience to evaluate further expansion of the program.
Two years ago, BlackRock launched its Voting Choice service, and announced its plans to expand it to the UK for individual investors in November 2022.
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