Broadridge goes live with global proxy sub-custody services in Switzerland

Move follows expansion of coverage for proxy processing and extended voting windows for 20 sub-custody markets last month.

By Jonathan Watkins

Broadridge has made its golden copy event sourcing and proxy vote execution service available for custodians and local agents in Switzerland.

The Swiss service is the latest addition to Broadridge’s sub-custody Direct Market Solutions (DMS) product suite that can directly connect investors and issuers.

The move follows Broadridge’s recently expanded coverage for proxy processing and extended voting windows for 20 sub-custody markets in 2021. 

More markets are expected to follow in 2022 and 2023.  

Through the service, global and local custodian banks in the Swiss market can enable early receipt of issuer-verified event announcements, improved deadlines for submitting votes, confirmation of votes received by the issuer or its agent, and power of attorney services for both bearer and registered shares.  

Issuers also benefit from a channel through which greater event information can be distributed directly to the investor, and voting transparency is enhanced as instructions can be received in a timelier manner. 

“This new local service offering for Switzerland is another market-level transformation, empowering all participants throughout the proxy voting lifecycle to transition to a more streamlined and efficient process,” said Demi Derem, general manager, international investor communication solutions at Broadridge. “Firms adopting our service for the Swiss market can now capitalise on straight-through processing automation, which extends their clients’ voting window while lowering overall voting costs through a mutualised shared service model.” 

Earlier this year, Broadridge launched Broadridge Proxy Policies & Insights (PPI) Data, providing an open data-feed of proxy voting information and analytics. 

The platform leverages machine learning services from Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide broker-dealers, institutional investors, mutual funds, retail investors, regulators and academics with access to over five million proxy voting data points from more than 85,000 meeting agendas and a wide coverage of regulatory documents. 

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