Allianz Global Investors, one of the world’s leading active investment managers, published on February 22 its annual analysis of how it voted on more than 100,000 shareholder and management proposals in 2020, with figures revealing a continued and stark disparity globally in corporate governance standards.  

Participating in 10,183 (2019: 9,532) shareholder meetings over the course of 2020, AllianzGI voted against, withheld or abstained from at least one agenda item at 72 percent (2019: 77 percent) of all meetings globally. It opposed 23 percent (2019: 24 percent) of all resolutions globally. These figures, as well as an increase in the number of meetings voted at, reflect AllianzGI’s highly active and globally consistent approach to stewardship and a willingness to vote against proposals that do not meet its expectations of investee companies as well as fulfilling its duty to act in the interests of clients by considering each proposal on merit. 

Compensation related proposals continued to stand out as the most contentious area globally during 2020, with AllianzGI voting against 49 percent (2019: 48 percent) of all compensation related management proposals. The key reasons for voting against compensation related proposals were when packages were not supported by robust and challenging targets, and when there was not sufficient transparency of performance KPIs and actual targets. 

As of 2021, AllianzGI amended its Proxy Voting Guidelines, scrutinizing generous pay proposals on a case-by-case basis whenever companies received substantial direct state aid, substantial lay-offs were recorded or dividend cuts happened (not prescribed by regulators) as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Reflecting on the impact of the pandemic on proxy voting and engagement, 2021 will be a test for the application of the compensation policy, in particular with respect to target setting, the performance share plans, and ensuring that packages reflect changes in economic perspectives as a result of Covid," continued Christensen. 

Despite a slight decrease in votes against director related proposals, (26 percent in 2020 vs. 27 percent in 2019), major concerns remain with respect to a sound and balanced set-up of many boards.  AllianzGI voted against several companies where the board of directors and/or board committees were not sufficiently independent as a result of directors with long tenure or who are representatives from major shareholders. 

Over-boarding also remains a major concern. We stood fully behind corporate governance related shareholder resolutions, supporting 100 percent of all proposals requesting an independent Chair of the Board. AllianzGI supported shareholder proposals that sought to improve corporate governance practices of investee companies and to enhance shareholder rights.