Exciting changes to shareholder voting rights exercises for ETF retail investors

BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, will allow retail investors of its iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the US to vote from 2024. With this step, BlackRock wants to counter accusations that the company is promoting its own agenda. The asset manager is following the example of State Street and Vanguard, which include private investors in voting on shareholder resolutions, as their increased influence on companies has come under fire.

The company had previously only allowed institutional investors to decide on the voting of their shares and now private investors are also to benefit from the successful program. BlackRock is already planning to introduce these programs in Europe, which should encourage other asset managers to offer similar opportunities.

Source: BlackRock offers a vote to retail investors in its biggest ETF | Financial Times (ft.com)