Electronic Proxy Voting Rises in Canada

During the 2013 Canadian proxy season, the first season following new allowances for issuing electronic proxy-related information rather than traditional mailings, Canadian corporate issuers sent 40% fewer hard-copy mailings and saved nearly $33 million using Broadridge’s electronic delivery solution.

Canadian securities regulators passed the Notice and Access initiative in February 2013. The measure allows companies to send a smaller, hard-copy mailing notifying shareholders that proxy-related documents can be accessed online, as opposed to sending all of the materials through the mail. (Shareholders can still request a hard copy.) In addition to reducing postage and printing costs, companies also saw a slight increase in voting participation, with total shares voted rose from 42% to 43%, with 84% of all votes coming electronically.

“Digital communications is an increasingly important channel for our corporate issuer clients,” says Donna Bristow, Broadridge’s vice president, client management and strategic product development, investor communication solutions in Canada. “Broadridge’s priority is to help our clients achieve higher levels of transparency, efficiency, and shareholder engagement. The introduction of the new Notice and Access solution is aligned with these goals, and we are uniquely positioned to support corporate issuers that want to take advantage of the option.”