Italy’s pension funds association Assofondipensione plans to expand the scope of a voting platform it set up with Frontis Governance beyond European markets, to the US and Canada, reviewing guidelines to add further ESG criteria subject to a vote, and to strengthen engagement next year.
“Our goal is to also vote in companies in the US and Canada,” said Giovanni Maggi, Assofondipensione president, during an event introducing the results of the first year of activity of the schemes’ voting platform.
Andrea Mariani, secretary of the association and general director of Fondo Pensione Complementare Pegaso, said the US offers more opportunities to vote on ESG criteria.
“It’s very interesting what’s happening in the US,” he added, referring to an increasing number of anti-ESG resolutions, and the incentive to go and vote there.
Pension funds will also strengthen engagement to have a bigger impact on companies’ governance through voting, according to the association.
Assofondipensione will work next year with its adviser Nummus.Info to assess international engagement platforms, follow their activities and join them, added Riccardo Realfonzo, coordinator of the technical committee at Assofondipensione.
Engagement activities of Italian pension schemes will target specific companies in Italy and abroad to start a constructive dialogue between them, he said, adding that the association will also look to review voting guidelines to add further ESG voting criteria.
Maggi said that 13 association scheme members with assets worth around €24bn have so far joined the platform to vote in companies in Italy, Europe, Switzerland and the UK.
With their vote, the pension funds support resolutions to fight climate change, protect biodiversity, protect employees’ health, against discrimination, and in favour of transparent governance protecting shareholders rights, and reduction of the remunerations gap within companies, he said.
Assofondipensione will direct all efforts in the next few months to lure more pension funds to join the project.
Recap of first year of voting
As of 5 November, Italian pension funds have taken part in 95 annual general meetings (AGMs), including five extraordinary AGMs, for a total of 91 companies covered, according to Frontis.
Pension funds have voted at AGMs of companies active in all major European Union markets, mostly in the UK (25 firms) and France (21 firms), it added. They have voted on over 1,700 resolutions, only eight put forward by shareholders, it added.
“In continental Europe you need large investments that de facto make it impossible for minority shareholders to put forward resolutions at AGMs, in the Nordic markets it is a little bit easier,” said Sergio Carbonara, founder and director of Frontis, introducing the results of the first year of the platform’s activity.
Assofondipensione members voted mostly for resolutions on sustainability reporting, whose vote is mandatory only in Spain and Switzerland, and on remuneration policies, he added.
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