Proxy Voting
Proxy voting is a means to voice our view to corporate management teams on important issues, including ESG-related topics.
At Jennison we value the rights and privileges that come with the ownership of an equity share in a company. Among them is the ability to vote on certain company matters. We vote all eligible proxies in a manner that we believe best supports the investment interests of our clients over the long term.
Our votes are based on the firm’s guideline recommendations, which are created and maintained in partnership with our investment teams. When proxy voting authority has been delegated to us by our clients, our investment professionals serve as decision-makers and they vote according to the merits of each proposal.
Jennison’s research analysts decide their votes according to each situation and based on the firm’s broad ESG guidelines.
Proxy Voting Record
For the 12 months ended December 31, 2020, we voted on 8,109 proposals of which 7,846 were initiated by management and 263 by shareholders. Among management-led proposals, we supported management 96% of the time. Among shareholder-led proposals, we supported the shareholder 40% of the time.
The majority of management proposals concerned board-related matters. Compensation and audit/financials were also common topics. We generally voted in support of management across all topics during the year.
Shareholder proposals primarily addressed governance and social issues and we supported proposals in those two categories approximately 50% of the time.