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Exploring the Value of Real-Time Connectivity for Proxy Voting Guidelines
Institutional investors, asset managers, and proxy advisory firms establish proxy voting guidelines to meet their fiduciary responsibilities when voting on behalf of shareholders.
However, traditional proxy voting processing systems can cause delays, inaccuracies, and inefficiencies; issues that prevent proxy voting guidelines from being truly effective.
In this article, we explore how connected digital solutions can bridge gaps in this process, helping institutional investors get accurate and timely information, providing enough time for them to do necessary research, and ensuring their votes are both carried out and counted correctly.
Understanding proxy voting guidelines in modern markets
Proxy voting guidelines are policies that outline how institutional investors will vote on various corporate issues during shareholder meetings. These guidelines ensure consistency, transparency, and alignment with their regulatory responsibilities when voting on behalf of shareholders.
Subjects that issuers may bring to a vote include board elections, executive pay, mergers and acquisitions, and sustainability policies; critical issues in which shareholders have a say.
Keeping informed and keeping proxy voting guidelines up-to-date is critical.
Institutional investors may update their proxy voting guidelines to reflect new governance standards or market conditions. For example, the 2025 BlackRock proxy voting guidelines feature new language about BlackRock Investment Stewardship’s (BIS) guidance compared to the previous year.
Challenges with traditional methods for proxy voting
While institutional investors and others take great care in developing comprehensive proxy voting guidelines, legacy proxy voting and communication systems can prevent these guidelines from achieving their intended impact:
• Proxy materials reach investors late, reducing time for research and decision-making
• Traditional systems limit communication between issuers, advisors, and investors
• Limited visibility into vote confirmation can undermine trust and engagement
When investors get shorter research windows due to legacy inefficiencies, it impacts overall stewardship and engagement with the board or their IR teams. Real-time connectivity enhances proxy voting guidelines by digitally and directly connecting investors and issuers.
A centralised platform designed to improve the proxy voting process can add key advantages, including:
• More time for decision-making: Investors get immediate access to meeting information, maximising their time to properly research issues, raise shareholder proposalsand apply their proxy voting guidelines more effectively
• Direct connectivity between participants: A real-time connection between issuers, intermediaries, and institutional investors closes information gaps that disrupt voting and risk misalignment with guidelines
• Vote transparency and confirmation: Connected tools verify that votes are received and processed according to investors’ intentions, ensuring proper governance and compliance.
Proxymity bridges the gaps between guidelines, decisions, and results
Proxymity’s ecosystem of digital investor communications tools connects issuers, intermediaries, and investors in real-time throughout the proxy voting process.
It’s centralised, real-time solutions, such as Proxymity’s Investor Portal connected with Proxymity’s Vote Connect, can bridge gaps in the process:
• Vote Connect enhances efficiency, transparency and accuracy in proxy voting to connect the entire custody chain in real-time. This connectivity enables faster information sharing, better governance and direct connectivity with investors.
• Investor Portal simplifies voting and real-time reporting, making it easier for institutional investors to fairly represent their shareholders.
Maximising the impact of proxy voting guidelines
The shift toward real-time proxy communications and voting is accelerating.
Today, financial institutions can align with proxy voting clients internationally and in over a dozen markets using Proxymity’s solutions, enhancing efficiency, supporting better decision making, and providing real-time transparency across investor communications.
Ultimately, proxy voting guidelines are only as effective as the proxy voting systems institutional investors use.
Without solutions like Proxymity, even well-designed guidelines may fall short ensuring consistent, transparent governance decisions.
Discover how Proxymity can help your team achieve greater transparency and efficiency in proxy voting. Contact one of our proxy voting experts today.