Ethical Funds Inc. has released its shareholder proxy voting guidelines on its website. This is the third year of Ethical Funds has publicly disclosed voting guidelines on behalf of unitholders regarding issues of corporate governance, social, and environmental proxy issues.

“We believe every investment company has an obligation to report publicly how it votes the shares held on behalf of investors,” says Robert Walker, VP Socially Responsible Investment Policy & Research at Ethical Funds. “We’re pleased to be the first mutual fund company in Canada, and one of only a handful in the world, to have done so.
We’re disappointed that our industry counterparts have taken so long to follow.”

Proxy voting allows shareholders to influence policy on a wide range of social, environmental, and corporate accountability issues. In any given year, investors have the opportunity to cast votes on thousands of issues. “Proxy voting and socially responsible shareholder action represent the future for concerned investors who want their money to make a positive impact on the world,” says Walker.

“Ethical Funds unitholders have the additional benefit of pooling their voices and their money to pave the way for real change,” said Walker. “If they were trying to vote proxies on their own as individual investors, they would have to wade through hundreds of proxy statements and assess literally thousands of issues described on the management proxy circular mailed prior to the company’s annual general meeting.”