Pension funds generally hold stock in numerous companies, and therefore get to vote at company AGMs in proportion to their holding. To my mind, it is actually the fund members who own this stock, and therefore it should be they who determine how the votes are cast, rather than the whim of the fund managers.

Each fund member should be notified of all the motions to be discussed at all of the AGMs where the fund has votes. The member will vote for, against or abstain (the default). The members votes are aggregated, weighted by their stake in the fund, and the managers mandated to vote accordingly.
-- Mickey the Fish, Jul 14 2000

That's not entirely true. In fact the members merely pay an agreed contribution into the fund in return for certain benefits when they retire. The fund itself is run by a board of trustees who may delegate investment decisions to a fund manager but it is they who exercise any voting rights on shares held. Without wanting to waffle on too much about accountancy issues, I can tell you that in the UK, local government pension funds are currently having to do a lot of work in response to recent legislation which forces them to publish a policy statement on 'ethical' investing. Blimey I can be boring sometimes!
-- DrBob, Jul 14 2000


It should include a free meal, too, in case you don't care about all that other stuff.
-- Ander, Jul 26 2000



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