BlackRock cites corporate governance 'concerns' for voting against 10% of directors' elections

BlackRock report reveals increasing scrutiny

BlackRock voted against management on one or more proposals at 42% of shareholder meetings between 1 July 2020 and 30 June this year, up from 39% the previous year, and revealed that corporate governance concerns prompted most of the votes against directors’ elections.

The latest BlackRock Investment Stewardship (BIS) report for the 2020-21 proxy voting year revealed that BIS voted on more than 64,000 director elections, voting against 10% for "falling short of our expectations". "We voted against one or more directors at over 3,400 companies globally. Corporate governance concerns - including lack of board independence, insufficient diversity, and executive compensation - prompted most of the votes against directors' elections," BIS stated. According to BlackRock, insufficient board gender diversity was the main reason for voting against a director...