Platforms’ Connectivity Maximises Transparency and Efficiency for Proxy Voting in the UK
LONDON– Citi, in collaboration with Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS), the leading provider of end-to-end responsible investment and governance solutions to the global financial community, have launched a high frequency connection that seamlessly links Proximity SM , the pioneering digital proxy voting platform developed through Citi’s D10XSM program, with ISS’ platform to expedite the delivery of proxy ballot information.
Through the connection, for company meetings supported by Proxymity, users of ISS’ research and voting platform, ProxyExchange, can now leverage the Proxymity platform’s proprietary technology and algorithm to benefit from features such as instant meeting notifications and extended voting deadlines, which in some cases will provide up to nine additional days for decision making. ProxyExchange users will also receive timely post-meeting vote confirmations that their vote was cast at the meeting.
These features may aid investors in their compliance with regulatory initiatives such as the European Union’s Shareholder Rights Directive II, and the focus on encouraging transparency in financial markets and empowerment for investors.
“The integration and use of Proxymity services with ProxyExchange is further testament to the vast potential of the platform,” said Dean Little, Co-Founder of the Proxymity platform at Citi. “This collaboration shows how Proxymity can effectively be used without any change to the systems and workflows that ISS clients already know, like and trust. This is a significant win for all users.”
In addition to the data and workflow already available in ProxyExchange, users of the ISS platform can now benefit from enhanced visibility for supported company meetings by casting vote instructions directly within ProxyExchange. By eliminating intermediaries, the Proxymity platform enables supported issuers to receive near real-time confirmation of investor votes quickly after these are entered.
“ISS is committed to assisting our clients through all stages of the voting process and through the delivery of cutting-edge technology and are pleased to work with Proxymity in furtherance of this objective,” said Lorraine Kelly, Head of Governance Solutions at ISS. “The connection between ProxyExchange and Proxymity will provide our clients with a sophisticated and streamlined information delivery and voting solution while providing near real-time visibility into the successful casting of ballots.”
