UK: 2022 PROXY SEASON REVIEW, SAY ON CLIMATE, GENDER DIVERSITY, REM AND ESG IN THE BOARDROOM

Morrow Sodali is pleased to present a video featuring Charles Nelson, Managing Director – Head of UK, and Jonathan Harker, Senior Director, Head of Account Management – EMEA, at Morrow Sodali, outlining the key findings from the 2022 proxy season in the UK as detailed in the recent Lighthouse Europe edition.

Findings include:

• The 2022 AGM season has seen a robust return to physical, in-person meetings, albeit with a modest reduction in average attendance figures in the FTSE 100: 75.3% of voting rights in 2020 to 73.9% in 2022.
• At the end of the 2022 general meeting season in the UK, FTSE 100 boards averaged just over 10 directors per board, that were on average c. 74% independent. Within this, female independent directors comprise c. 48%. Moreover, in the most senior positions, there are ten female CEOs, and 12 female board chairs.
• In the UK, investor support for directors has fallen consistently over the three years under review. This increase in opposition is largely driven by the heightened focus on ‘director accountability’, whereby shortfalls perceived in best practice are escalated in voting dissent against the responsible committees, their chairs or their members. This has been typical for issues in remuneration and diversity, but now also with the assessment of ESG and sustainability or non-financial reporting.

Read more about the voting trends relating to the remuneration policy and the remuneration report in the 2022 AGMs, along with in-depth analysis on Say on Climate, Gender diversity, E&S in the boardroom and investor insights Q&A with BNP Paribas Asset Management, Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), and UBS.