• 40,000 investors engaged in the pilot, showing increasing interest in proxy voting.
• 43% of participants chose Vanguard-advised voting policies, the most popular option.
• Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF investors favored third-party ESG policies at three times the average rate.

Vanguard’s Investor Choice proxy voting pilot, launched in early 2023, has revealed new data from the 2024 proxy season, showing growing individual investor engagement. The initiative enables individual investors to influence how their proxies are voted in key shareholder meetings through various policy options.

John Galloway, Global Head of Investment Stewardship at Vanguard, emphasized the importance of empowering individual investors: “We believe Investor Choice is an exciting and impactful way to empower individual investors in specific Vanguard funds to more directly influence how their proxies are voted.“

Key findings from the pilot include:

• Policy Preferences: 43% of investors chose Vanguard-advised policies, 30.3% supported company board-aligned policies, and 24.4% opted for third-party ESG policies. Only 2.3% selected not to vote.
• ESG Policy Support: Investors in the Vanguard ESG U.S. Stock ETF overwhelmingly favored third-party ESG policies (78.2%), compared to the 24.4% average across other funds.
• Investor Participation: Those directly investing with Vanguard were twice as likely to engage in the proxy voting pilot compared to those investing through other firms.

Related Article: Morningstar Reports Mixed Support for ESG Proposals in 2024 Proxy Season as Governance Gains Momentum

As Vanguard continues to expand access, Galloway reiterated: “The results from our pilot underscore that individual investors have a point-of-view on corporate governance, and we are committed to continuing to empower investors.“

For more information, visit Vanguard’s Investor Choice page.