Global Emerging Markets Leaders Sustainability

During the quarter there were 430 resolutions from 35 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 15 resolutions.

We abstained from voting on amendments to work systems for independent directors and board meeting procedures at Amoy Diagnostics as the company did not provide sufficient data on the proposed amendments. (two resolutions)

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at EPAM Systems, Estun Automation, Glodon, Sunny Optical Technology and Yifeng Pharmacy Chain as they have been in place for over 10 years and the companies’ have given no information on intended rotation. We believe rotating an auditor on a relatively frequent basis (e.g. every 5-10 years) helps to ensure a fresh pair of eyes are examining the accounts, and follows best practice. (five resolutions)

We voted against the proposed employee stock ownership plan at Midea as we believe non-executive director involvement could lead to conflict of interest and would not be in shareholders' interest. (three resolutions)

We voted against the recasting of votes for the supervisory council at RaiaDrogasil as we believe the principle of recasting votes for an amended slate is poor practice and would prefer the slate be resubmitted for voting. (one resolution)

We voted against the establishment of a supervisory council and cumulative voting at TOTVS as no detail on the candidates was provided. (two resolutions)

We voted against recasting and cumulative voting at WEG as this would allow the board to make changes without shareholder assessment or knowledge of candidates. (three resolutions)

We abstained from voting on requests for a separate board election and the election of a Supervisory Council position at WEG due to insufficient information and our preference for the current family stewards to remain in place. (two resolutions)

We voted against a shareholder proposal regarding board declassification at EPAM Systems as we do not deem it necessary for all directors to stand for election annually and believe this could destabilise the board by allowing excessive turnover. (one resolution)

During the quarter there were 168 resolutions from 18 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 8 resolutions.

We voted against a Board appointment at Banco Bradesco as we would encourage the appointment of more external independent Directors. We also voted against an increase in Authorised Capital as we found the proposed dilution to be overly high, and voted against requests for cumulative voting and to recast votes for an amendment on the day of voting. (five resolutions)

We voted against excessive executive remuneration at Bank Central Asia. (one resolution)

We voted against an adjustment of the Guarantee for Controlled Subsidiaries Assets Pool Business at Midea as we found the guarantee amount to be excessive and not in shareholders' best interests. (one resolution)

We voted against a Board appointment at Samsung Electronics as we would prefer to see more independent, non-family associated Directors. (one resolution)

During the quarter there were 46 resolutions from 8 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we didn't vote against any resolutions and abstained from one resolution.

We abstained from voting on the approval of a renewed liability insurance for Directors, Supervisors, and Senior Management at Midea Group as we did not have sufficient information on the details of the insurance policy at the time of voting. (One resolution)  

During the quarter there were 99 resolutions from 13 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against three resolutions.

We voted against the election of the Chair of the Nomination Committee at Hangzhou Robam in support of encouraging better gender diversity. At present the company has no female directors, and we believe the Chair of the Nomination Committee has an important role in facilitating a more gender diverse Board of Directors. (One resolution) 

We voted against a related party transaction at Kingmed Diagnostics Group which would transfer 73% ownership of a subsidiary pharmaceutical company to the Deputy General Manager of the listco. We could not find any reasons behind the sale nor the valuation at which the transaction would happen. (One resolution)

We voted against the appointment of the auditor and the company’s ability to set auditor fees at Vitasoy as they have been in place for over 10 years and the company has given no information on intended rotation. We believe rotating an auditor on a relatively frequent basis (e.g. every 5-10 years) helps to ensure a fresh pair of eyes are examining the accounts, and follows best practice. (One resolution)