Robust shareholder engagement continues to be a critical component of corporate governance, as well as a key element of shareholder activism preparedness. Proactively maintaining a dialogue with the company’s largest shareholders allows the company to establish credibility, lay out its strategy and address concerns before they escalate. A fundamental part of this effort is understanding the company’s unique shareholder base—who the key shareholders are, what their voting policies and priorities look like and how they have historically voted or engaged on specific issues. This information allows companies to anticipate potential concerns and tailor their strategies and communications accordingly. Understanding the company’s specific shareholder base is especially important in the context of activist approaches and potential proxy fights, as voting outcomes can sometimes be determined by razor-thin margins, hinging on the votes of just one or a handful of influential investors.

This critical task has recently become more complex, as the “Big Three” asset managers—BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street—are shifting their approach to stewardship. In particular, each of the “Big Three” is splitting its proxy voting team into two separate groups, each with their own voting decision-makers, voting policies and perspectives.

• BlackRock’s stewardship team has been split into (i) BlackRock Investment Stewardship (“BIS”), which utilizes the BIS Proxy Voting Guidelines and (ii) BlackRock Active Investment Stewardship (“BAIS”), which utilizes the BAIS Global Engagement and Voting Guidelines.
• In 2026, Vanguard’s stewardship team will be split into (i) Vanguard Capital Management and (ii) Vanguard Portfolio Management; the exact timing and details of the split have not been released.
• State Street’s stewardship team has been split into (i) State Street Asset Stewardship Team, which utilizes the Global Proxy Voting and Engagement Policy and (ii) State Street Sustainability Stewardship Service, which utilizes the Sustainability Stewardship Service Proxy Voting and Engagement Policy.

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