eToro teams up with Broadridge to enable proxy voting

Steffy Bogdanova
November 15, 2022 3:13 pm

Social investing network eToro today announced its partnership with Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. to enable proxy voting for its users.

Users of the eToro trading platform, including those holding fractional shares, will be able to participate in annual general meetings (AGMs). The will have the option to cast proxy votes on mergers, executive pay, environmental, social and governance proposals and other issues.

In the proxy voting process, eToro investors will submit their votes which will be aggregated and shared with the Broadridge. According to the official announcement, users will have access to proxy voting for stocks listed on US exchanges later this month and voting for stocks listed on other global exchanges will follow. Furthermore, eToro revealed that users will also be able to participate in voluntary corporate actions in the coming months.

Yoni Assia, CEO and co-founder of eToro, said:

Yoni Assia, eToro

Yoni Assia
Source: LinkedIn

In the last few years we’ve seen an explosion in the number of retail investors. This group has the potential to have a major influence on financial markets. Thanks to our partnership with Broadridge, eToro’s users can now have their say in the corporate decision making at many of the biggest companies in the world. This is a huge milestone in the retail investor story and one that could have a lasting impact on the business world.

eToro survey of 10,000 global retail investors found that the majority of retail investors want to participate in corporate decisions. The company detailed, that three in four want to vote in AGMs.

The data further revealed that younger investors are significantly more likely to want to have a say than older investors. In particular, 80% of participants in the survey between the age of 18 and 34 said they wanted to vote at AGMs if given the chance and 50% of investors around the age of 55.

It is interesting to point out that 79% of investors who have investing experience of 3-5 years are likely to vote. On the other hand, 65% of investors with more than 20 years of experience are least likely to vote.

eToro’s survey further revealed that the issues which make investors most likely to vote were dividends, executive pay and climate strategy with 49%, 33% and 28%, respectively.

Yoni Assia, added:

There is clearly a huge appetite amongst retail investors to participate in AGMs and we look forward to seeing how eToro clients engage with this new feature.

Martin Koopman, President, Bank Broker-Dealer Investor Communication Solutions at Broadridge, said:

Martin Koopman, Broadbridge

Martin Koopman
Source: LinkedIn

The substantial growth of retail investors has driven a step change in demand for greater shareholder engagement, with retail investors increasingly seeking to share their voice with the companies in their portfolios by voting on important issues relating to corporate policy. We are excited to be supporting eToro and helping them shape the future of corporate governance through our advanced proxy voting solution, while empowering their clients through a differentiated service proposition.

LeapRate Analyst

Experienced writer and journalist, working in the global online trading sector, Steffy is the Editor of LeapRate. She has previous experience as a copywriter and has been with the company since January 2020. Steffy has a British and American Studies degree from St. Kliment Ochridski University in Sofia.
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