The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu The leading online blog in the fields of corporate governance and financial regulation. Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:32:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.8 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/cropped-photography-4-e1706898544564-1-32x32.png SEC Investment Management Director Questions ‘Vote-All’ Proxy Practices and Adviser Reliance on Proxy Advisors – The Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu 32 32 SEC Investment Management Director Questions ‘Vote-All’ Proxy Practices and Adviser Reliance on Proxy Advisors https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/02/19/sec-investment-management-director-questions-vote-all-proxy-practices-and-adviser-reliance-on-proxy-advisors/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sec-investment-management-director-questions-vote-all-proxy-practices-and-adviser-reliance-on-proxy-advisors https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2026/02/19/sec-investment-management-director-questions-vote-all-proxy-practices-and-adviser-reliance-on-proxy-advisors/#respond Thu, 19 Feb 2026 12:30:52 +0000 https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/?p=179288?d=20260218174814EST Posted by Michael A. Asaro, Peter I. Altman, and Jason Daniel, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, on Thursday, February 19, 2026
Editor's Note:

Michael A. Asaro, Peter I. Altman, and Jason Daniel are Partners at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. This post is based on an Akin Gump memorandum by Mr. Asaro, Mr. Altman, Mr. Daniel, Douglas A. Rappaport, William K. Wetmore, and Barbara Niederkofler.

Key Points

  • On January 8, 2026, Brian Daly, Director of the SEC’s Division of Investment Management, delivered remarks at the New York City Bar Association addressing proxy voting practices, including whether advisers may have defaulted to automated voting processes that rely heavily on proxy advisory firm recommendations rather than judgments made in their clients’ best interests.
  • Director Daly framed his remarks as part of a broader reassessment of proxy voting practices, encouraging advisers to move away from rote, box-checking approaches and to re-evaluate whether their current practices align with their investment mandates and client objectives.
  • The remarks come amid heightened focus on proxy voting, including a recent Executive Order by President Trump and public statements by SEC Chairman Paul Atkins indicating increased attention to the role of proxy advisors. More broadly, they also reflect an effort across various divisions of the SEC to re-examine longstanding regulatory practices to assess whether they continue to function as intended.

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