Although there are clear signs of an increase in shareholders’ activity levels, voting levels remain low.
According to the annual Proxy Voting Review from Pensions Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), the average voting level for Ftse 350 companies remains at 55% and the average for the Ftse All Share remains at 53%. The position is a little brighter in the Ftse Midcap companies where the figure rises to 61%. Given that the government voting target is 60% and that the Crest system provides an additional electronic method of recording a proxy vote, the results are not encouraging.
