Shareholder Engagement

Shareholder rights and responsibilities

Owning company stock gives shareholders the right to be consulted - and make their voices heard - regarding certain aspects of corporate management. Shareholders exercise this right by voting on proposals that the company submits at its annual general meeting.

Influencing corporate practices

Desjardins furthers the shareholder commitment concept by engaging companies in dialogue to share its concerns and request changes in corporate policies.

As part of the Corporate Engagement Program, Desjardins Funds and its partner, NEI Investments, use the following tools to advocate for change within companies:

• Dialogue: NEI Investments targets companies that need to improve their ESG performance, engaging in dialogue to help them identify the issues at hand. Solutions are often found, as shown by the tangible results that are obtained.
• Shareholder resolutions: If dialogue fails to produce results, NEI Investments sends the company a shareholder resolution in order to present the issue for a vote at its shareholder meeting. The resolution clearly informs the corporation that its investors are seeking improvement. As annual meetings are public - and sometimes highly publicized - events, such resolutions can be powerful catalysts for change. Companies often agree to cooperate before resolutions are put to shareholder votes.
  
• Proxy voting guidelines: At shareholder meetings, NEI Investments and Desjardins Funds vote on behalf of all their investors on proposals submitted by the company board or other investors. The Desjardins Funds position on such votes can be found in the Proxy voting guidelines.
  

An effective process

The Corporate Engagement Program employed by Desjardins and NEI Investments is a lengthy process that is not necessarily linear in nature. It is, however, worth its investment in time, delivering tangible, lasting results.



To learn about more recent Corporate Engagement Program initiatives, go to Investing in Your World.