Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., announced that Killik & Co will use Broadridge’s new UK Nominations and Proxy Voting Service. The service will enable Killik & Co to offer its advisory and managed account clients direct-from-company shareholder communications as well as enhancing their governance rights through online proxy voting capabilities, for all portfolio companies. Broadridge launched the service in response to the recent changes in the UK Companies Act with respect to enhanced rights for beneficial shareholders.
Under the new legislation, UK companies will send shareholder communications, such as annual reports and shareholder meeting notices, direct to broker clients that are nominated for such communications by their broker. The Broadridge service being introduced by Killik & Co will support this nomination service through a one-time sign up process. Killik & Co clients will have the option, at the time of signing up, to choose to receive communications in an electronic or paper format. Once the clients have signed up for the service, no further action on their part is required regardless of any trading or portfolio changes that subsequently take place.
A unique feature of the Broadridge offering is that it also enables Killik & Co to offer electronic proxy voting to all of its advisory clients, and to vote on behalf of all clients in its managed accounts. At the same time that advisory clients sign up for the nominations service, they are also given the option of signing up for the electronic voting service.
When a portfolio company releases the agenda for an upcoming shareholder meeting, shareholders that opted for the voting service will receive an email advising them of the upcoming vote, with a link to a voting website.
Broadridge then stores the voting decisions until the vote deadline, at which time it is sent to the company or its agent with votes from all other Killik & Co clients. As it is an online service, clients are able to change their votes at any time up to the voting deadline. This service is made possible given Broadridge’s unique position as vote processor for a significant number of large UK financial institutions.
“We are committed to providing our clients with the best levels of service the markets can offer, and this service is designed to do just that. Enabling our clients to improve communication with their portfolio companies and exercise their shareholder right to vote is something I have long aspired to. Partnering with Broadridge to bring these new services to our clients was an easy choice for us, given their international reputation in the shareholder communications arena,” says Paul Killik, senior partner, Killik & Co.
“Given Killik & Co’s longstanding and vocal support for enhanced shareholder rights in the UK, the fact that our new service helps them effectively and seamlessly bring these new rights to their clients is very gratifying. It is a very positive step forward for UK corporate governance and individual shareholder enfranchisement. Killik & Co’s reputation for being a leading, relationship-based advisory and stockbroking service provider means we are proud to be working with them to enhance further their levels of client service,” says Bruce A. Babcock, president, Investor Communications Solutions, International, Broadridge and Financial Solutions, Inc.