Wespath’s Lucas Schoeppner (center) spoke on multiple panels at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility’s 2023 Fall Conference. He discussed asset manager engagements on proxy voting, among other things.
After Wespath engagement, asset manager changes proxy voting policy A pair of discussions with one of Wespath’s asset managers demonstrated the power of engagement. Wespath and a fellow member of the Midwest Investors Diversity Initiative (MIDI) met with the asset manager in the fourth quarter of 2023 to discuss the firm’s hiring practices and minority representation among its investment staff. Wespath and the other MIDI member encouraged the asset manager to provide greater disclosure of diversity metrics, such as making its Equal Employment Opportunity-1 (EEO-1) report public. U.S. employers with 100 or more employees are required to submit the EEO-1 report, which details workforce demographics by race or ethnicity, sex and job category. When the two groups met the following quarter, the asset manager shared that it changed its proxy voting policy for 2024 in response to the previous meeting. The manager’s policy now indicates potential support for shareholder proposals that seek disclosure of staff diversity-related metrics and board diversity information. 50
What is a proxy voting policy? A proxy voting policy, sometimes called proxy voting guidelines, outlines how an investment firm or asset manager votes on behalf of its clients at shareholder meetings. The policy may include procedures for researching, casting and disclosing votes on issues like board elections, executive compensation and shareholder proposals.