Northern Trust Asset Management (NTAM) is implementing a “proxy voting choice solution” for certain US clients under the direction of a newly appointed stewardship head in London.
Paul Clark joins as global head of stewardship in the Chicago-headquartered asset manager’s London office and joins NTAM after acting as head of stewardship at UBS Asset Management, a role held since 2015.
NTAM, which has $1.2 trillion in assets under management (AUM), said the measure would further strengthen its investment stewardship capabilities and will be rolled out to other clients in coming months.
NTAM’s says the proxy voting choice solution is for investors in select US common and collective funds. Eligible clients represent $250 billion of AUM and these clients join others who already have optionality in their proxy voting approach and who are invested in equities through separately managed accounts, representing $342 billion in assets under management.
The firm says its proxy voting preferences now cover around 76% of client equity assets.
Eligible investors will be able to choose from four voting guideline options, including the option to leverage proxy voting guidelines developed by Northern Trust’s proxy voting committee, giving investors in certain institutional pooled investments the ability to exercise more direct control over their votes, the firm said.
The proxy voting choice solution will calculate the pro-rata ownership institutional investors have in a specific security, so the investor’s voting preference can be exercised according to their selected guidelines.
Guidelines for the proxy voting take into consideration “common and best market practice standards in governance to promote total shareholder value and risk mitigation while applying a thoughtful and considered approach to environmental and social issues”, the firm’s Provy Voting Policies & Procedures Document says.
Clark will serve as chair of the Northern Trust proxy voting committee and will lead a “growing” global team of stewardship professionals. He reports to NTAM head of investment platform services, Sheri Hawkins.
Hawkins said; “Paul’s expertise will be a tremendous asset to NTAM as we continue to grow our global stewardship team. NTAM’s investment stewardship team is committed to serving the long-term financial interests of our clients. I am confident that Paul’s leadership and deep industry experience will help us achieve and exceed our clients’ investment goals.”
Clark spent 30 years with UBS Asset Management in a variety of roles in stewardship, tax and dividends. Earlier in his career he worked in global custody operations for Northern Trust and JP Morgan Chase.
