Top asset manager backing for shareholder ESG resolutions crashes in 2023
Votes from major asset managers in support of social resolutions also declined significantly last year to just 4%, down from 15% the previous year | Credit: iStock
That is the stark conclusion of ShareAction's latest annual assessment of the votes cast by the world's top asset managers at company AGMs, which indicates support for progressive shareholder ESG resolutions experienced a major setback last year.
The non-profit found only 3% of assessed environmental resolutions won enough votes to pass in 2023, down from 32% in 2021.
The campaign singled out a number of asset managers which it said had voted against resolutions aimed at protecting the environment in 2023, including JP Morgan Asset Management, State Street Global Advisers, and Baillie Gifford.
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The votes came despite the investment firms having corporate policies in place signalling their commitment to tackling climate change by achieving net zero emissions, according to ShareAction, which warned recent voting decisions risked exposing the firms to accusations of greenwashing and hypocrisy.
Even asset managers signed up to the Climate Action 100+ initiative — which seeks to pressure major emitters to drive down their climate impact — were found to have voted down resolutions at AGMs that ShareAction said were aimed boosting corporate environmental protections.
Votes from major asset managers in support of social resolutions also declined significantly last year to just 4%, down from 15% the previous year, according to the report, which ranks 69 of the world's largest asset managers on the ESG shareholder voting records.
Claudia Gray, head of financial sector research at ShareAction,
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