Proxy voting for the Conscientious Investor

As a conscientious investor, how do you know what to do when you get those shareholder letters in the mail asking you to send in a proxy vote? There are several shareholder advocacy organizations that compile impact data on companies and mutual funds so that shareholders can educate themselves and vote for corporate responsibility.

One such advocacy group is AsYouSow.org, whose mission is “to promote environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, coalition building, and innovative legal strategies.” As You Sow publishes several annual reports and hosts educational webinars. On March 12, they are collaborating with Proxy Impact on the 2019 Proxy Preview Webinar, an insider’s guide to social and environmental shareholder proposals. You can register for that webinar and publication here: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3500815732983795981.

Another valuable resource for shareholder activism is the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. ICCR also publishes an annual Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide based on the mission, “Shareholders calling the world’s most powerful companies to address their impacts on the world’s most valuable communities.” You can review ICCR’s 2019 Proxy Resolutions and Voting Guide, and listen to the recent webinar here: https://www.iccr.org/iccrs-2019-proxy-resolutions-and-voting-guide.