Launched today (7 June), the CIRCA500 Green Energy & Technology, Sustainable Food & Biodiversity, Clean Water & Waste, Social & Economic Empowerment and Health & Wellbeing ETFs will each allow investors to choose how they wish to vote.
In partnership with Tumelo, and utilising its platform, the fund range will start by offering institutional investors the ability to select a voting policy, vote ad hoc or delegate to their fund manager, with retail investor access due to follow.
Pass-through voting tech to boost shareholder democracy among fund investors
Pass-through voting enables investors in a pooled fund to vote their shares in proportion to the assets they have invested in the product.
Tumelo CEO Georgia Stewart clarified that fund managers would be able to “override any pass-through votes on decisions that affect their ability to meet their fiduciary duty”, meaning investors would only be able to offer an “expression of wish”, if the managers chose this option.
“[Managers] can then use our platform to communicate back to investors why they chose to vote in a particular way,” she added.
CIRCA5000 co-founder Tom McGillycuddy described the new funds as an “opportunity for investors to make a positive impact”, with pass-through voting offering them “a say in how those companies are run”.
BlackRock expands proxy voting with new pilot programme
Stewart said: “We are thrilled to be part of CIRCA5000’s story and to help it reach investors in new and compelling ways.
“For many investors, the ability to have their say on key votes at the companies they invest in is a game changer.
“For fund managers, we believe it eradicates at least one reason why some shareholders divest from funds and look elsewhere.”
