As stewards of our clients’ assets, we are committed to ensuring that the issuers in which we invest act in alignment with the long-term interests of our clients.
This means conveying to issuers and regulatory bodies our views on topics such as board structure, executive compensation, gender diversity, and climate change, where material.
Fiduciary duty
Proxy voting is a key part of our engagement process as it provides an important way for us to convey our views to boards and management. As an asset manager, RBC GAM has an obligation to act in the best interests of our clients, including segregated client accounts and investment funds. Voting responsibly is part of our fiduciary duty, and we make our voting decisions independently and in accordance with our custom Proxy Voting Guidelines.
Proxy voting guidelines
Through our internal expertise and resources and in consultation with leading independent research firms, we have established the RBC GAM Proxy Voting Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) to govern the exercise of our voting rights. We review and update our Guidelines on an ongoing basis as corporate governance best practices evolve. Our Guidelines are published for the information of our clients and to assist issuers in understanding the rationale behind our proxy votes.
2022 Proxy voting statistics: records of our vote history over the calendar year
Direct engagements: totaled over 1,800 engagements discussing climate change, plastic waste, health and safety, and more
Collaborative initiatives: active participation in initiatives focused on ESG integration