Proximity, through its connection with Citi, is now able to provide proxy voting services to institutional clients in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland, Austria, Spain, France, Portugal, and Australia.
As part of the launch, Proxymity will manage Citi’s clients’ proxy announcements and voting across these 10 key international markets.
Citi says the continued drive toward electronic voting reflects the increasing global focus on transparency and environmental, social and governance (ESG) agendas.
Launched in time for the 2021 annual general meeting (AGM) season, Citi’s connection with Proxymity PV will deliver ‘golden source’ AGM announcements directly from issuers to Citi’s institutional clients in real-time.
Global investors will now be able to cast their ballots electronically and receive instant confirmation of their votes, according to Citi.
Issuers will also receive votes as soon as they are cast, allowing them an earlier sight of voting intentions than via any other market solution.
Chris Cox, global head of data, digitalisation and strategic projects and Europe, the Middle East and Africa head of securities services, Citi, comments: “Proxymity offers users new levels of transparency and efficiency in the proxy voting process, essential against a challenging social backdrop and expectations of improved ESG standards.”
Cox continues: “This is exactly what new technologies are supposed to achieve and it’s great to be able to partner with the Proxymity team to share this benefit with clients.”
Jonathan Smalley, chief operations officer and co-founder, Proxymity, adds: “In a challenging year of firsts, connecting with Citi has been a remarkable and exciting first step for Proxymity. We are proud of the progress made to date and are looking toward a successful and productive season for Citi and its clients, as we continue to roll out our platform globally.”
Proxymity was spun out of Citi’s Securities Services business last year, backed by a consortium of the world’s largest issuer and investor services firms. Citi is the first consortium member to fully implement the Proxymity platform, with other members due to follow later this year.
In September last year, Proxymity launched a shareholder disclosure solution in all EU markets ahead of the implementation date for the second Shareholder Rights Directive.
Go to page 18 of Asset Servicing Time’s issue 262 to discover more about proxy voting.
