Worldwide Sustainability

During the quarter there were 446 resolutions from 32 companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we voted against 26 resolutions.

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at A.O. Smith, Arista Networks, Edwards Lifesciences, EPAM Systems, Fortinet, Markel, Roper Technologies, Spirax Group, Synopsys, Texas Instruments, Veeva Systems and Zebra Technologies 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. (12 resolutions)

We voted against remuneration motions at Assa Abloy as we believe acquisitive businesses should incentivise management on returns as well as shares held. (two resolutions)

We voted against recasting of votes at Natura as we wish to avoid the election of potentially unknown nominees.  We voted against a remuneration proposal which the company highlighted was based on a discrepancy in our third-party research, misrepresenting the underlying proposal. Unfortunately it was too late to reverse the vote. We have alerted our research provider to the error. (two resolutions)

We voted against a proposal regarding transaction of business at Tecan as the company provided no detail on the proposal and we wish to avoid unfettered discretion. (one resolution)

We voted against an amendment to officer exculpation at Veeva Systems as we are not in favour of limiting the responsibility of corporate officers. (one resolution)

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 the decision to grant a one-off executive award with short vesting conditions at Zebra Technologies as we did not see sufficient rationale to support it. (one resolution)

We voted against a shareholder proposal at A.O. Smith requesting the company report on hiring practices for people with arrest records as we do not deem it necessary or productive and support the company's hiring process. (one resolution)

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)

We voted against a shareholder proposal regarding greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions disclosure at Markel as the proposal called for disclosure of emissions from underwriting, insuring and investments, which is not yet widely or reliably reported in the industry, hence we would prefer to discuss the issue with the company. (one resolution)

We abstained from voting on a shareholder proposal to remove supermajority requirements for certain issues at Roper Technologies as the board didn't provide a recommendation. (one resolution)

We voted against a shareholder proposal mandating an independent director serve as Chair at Synopsys as we are confident in the stewardship of the current Chair and former CEO to lead the majority independent board. (one resolution)

We voted for shareholder proposals regarding the right to call a special meeting and requesting a report on customer due diligence at Texas Instruments as we found both to be sensible. (two resolutions)

During the quarter there were 126 resolutions from 10 companies to vote on.  On behalf of clients, we voted against 7 resolutions.

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Nordson and Roche as they have each been in place for over 10 years. 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. We also voted against excessive executive renumeration at Roche. (seven resolutions)

During the quarter there were 42 resolutions from five companies to vote on. On behalf of clients, we didn't vote against any resolutions.

During the quarter there were 79 resolutions from eight companies to vote on.  On behalf of clients, we voted against two resolutions.

We voted against the appointment of the auditor at Advanced Drainage Systems and 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. (two resolutions).