17 May 2006
93% of UK trustees believe that fund managers should publicly
disclose how they vote in company AGMs, according to a new survey
by the Trades Union Congress.
The results of a survey of members of the TUC's Member Trustee
Network, which governs pension funds worth over £300 billion
combined, show that 93 per cent think fund managers should publicly
disclose how they vote in company AGMs and 80 per cent think that
pension funds which direct their own voting should also publish
their voting records.
According to the TUC, the results demonstrate that pension funds
support the government's reserve power to force investors to
publish voting records if they fail to do so voluntarily. The
measure is contained in the Company Law Reform Bill currently going
through Parliament.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "Pension funds
clearly want to shed some light on their relationship with
investors and how their members' pensions are managed. This
shatters the client confidentiality argument of those in the City
who want to keep voting records covered up. Clients want the
records of how their funds are voted on but they also want to share
the information and see how other managers govern investments."
