With the 2016 proxy season kicking off, a recent report highlights 20 of the key Canadian proxy votes that emerged in last year’s proxy season, including failed advisory votes on executive compensation at a trio of Canadian firms.
The Voting for Value report from the Vancouver-based Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE), along with the Columbia Institute and the Fonds de solidarité FTQ, looks back at the key votes that arose in 2015.
“Although 2015 may not have been the year that shareholders roared, it was a year in which they were more willing to raise their voices,” the report says.
“Each of these votes was selected because it raises an important environmental, social or governance issue and because the case for opposing corporate management — voting either in favour of shareholder proposals or against/withholding on management proposals — was strong,” the report adds.
Among the votes cited in the report are three instances where shareholders voted against firms’ executive compensation plans — at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) and two mining firms, Barrick Gold and Yamana Gold.
“In the cases of CIBC, Barrick Gold, and Yamana Gold, compensation was widely considered excessive relative to a companies’ recent performance and all three votes were lost decisively by management,” the report says. The report notes that 57% of shareholder votes were cast against CIBC’s executive compensation plans, which featured substantial payouts to a pair of retiring executives.
Other highlights of last year’s proxy votes include: shareholder opposition to directors because of a lack of independence or diversity, poor attendance, or conflicts of interest; significant support for independent human rights assessments; and growing pressure from minority shareholders for advisory votes on executive pay at controlled companies.
The report is intended as a tool to help fund trustees and administrators review their voting records from 2015, and prepare for the 2016 voting season. “By exercising their voting rights, shareholders communicate with boards and management about matters that affect shareholder value and the company’s future,” the report says.