Annual general meetings are a highly visible milestone in your corporate governance cycle, where shareholders and company representatives gather to discuss important topics and make decisions that impact the future of your organization. No matter the format – in person, virtual or hybrid – we support our client’s AGMs before, during and after the meeting date.
In 2024, our US team was entrusted to manage 1,156 annual meetings. Here we share a few highlights from the season ahead of the release of our 2024 annual intelligence report this fall, which will analyze trends and provide insights to help benchmark against the market, tackling key issues such as ESG, director elections, compensation, and global trends to help you plan for your next annual meeting.
Meeting Format
Many companies moved to virtual meetings in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic. For some, virtual meetings proved to be a good fit, requiring less travel and expense for board members and executives while still providing for strong shareholder engagement through Computershare’s online meeting solutions.
In 2024, roughly one of every four annual meetings hosted by Computershare were virtual-only, with no physical meeting, consistent with 2023. In a few cases, 2% of the time, issuers held a physical meeting with a virtual component – a hybrid meeting – allowing shareholders to attend in-person or online. These hybrid meetings tend to be the most complex to organize and administer as they require all the preparations for both an in-person and virtual meeting; however, they offer the greatest potential for shareholder engagement. Overall, in-person meetings remained the most popular option, consistent with 2023.
Distribution and Voting
Notice and Access describes the option to send shareholders a single sheet of paper with a link to where annual meeting materials can be accessed online (or requested to be mailed) in lieu of mailing a full set of printed materials, providing an opportunity for companies to control costs. Companies can leverage Notice and Access for their full registered population or segment the registered population to send a full set of materials to some. Notice and Access utilization grew to 37% in 2024, up from 36% in 2023 and 35% in 2022.
To maximize registered holder proxy voting, companies may choose to offer online voting as well as voting via telephone in addition to traditional paper proxy cards, even those that do not take advantage of Notice and Access. This makes it more convenient than ever for shareholders to exercise their voting rights. In 2024, three out of four annual meetings hosted by Computershare offered the option to vote via the web and telephone, consistent with 2023 and 2022.
The breakdown of registered holder proxy voting by channel in 2024 was as follows:
- Paper 48%
- Internet 44%
- Phone 8%
Registered holders can elect to receive all annual meeting and proxy materials electronically, further reducing the cost to companies. Computershare promotes e-delivery throughout the year and encourages registered holders to choose digital channels – including SMS – for vote reminders, correspondence, and transaction confirmations to enable quick and secure service. In 2024, roughly one out of every 10 registered holders received their proxy materials via email, representing a significant savings for companies on print and mail expenses.
2024 Proxy Season
If you have not already reviewed it, please check out our Early Proxy Season Report for US shareholders, which provides a preview of voting outcomes and an analytical view of themes across director elections, say-on-pay, shareholder-sponsored proposals, contested situations and activism. We will be publishing our full AGM intelligence report later this fall; watch this space for more information.
The AGM landscape continues to transform, from evolving shareholder expectations, the need for greater transparency, and enhancements offered by digital enablement. At the same time, your corporate objectives change from year to year. We look forward to working with you each year to design the right custom meeting solution to meet your needs, helping to foster stronger relationships with shareholders and paving the way for future success.