We actively vote in a manner that allows us to focus our resources where we believe we can make the most difference. This may involve voting against management to help drive positive change.
As shareholders in companies we invest in on behalf of clients, we have the right to vote on how companies are run – and by whom.
View our voting record, stock by stock, here.
VOTING CASE STUDIES
To give you an idea of how voting works at Rathbones, here are examples of how and why we voted – and what happened.
VOTES AGAINST SLAVERY
About 50m people were trapped in modern slavery* in 2021, according to the United Nations.
In a landmark piece of legislation, Section 54 (s54) of the UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 created a duty for companies to set out the steps they’ve taken to ensure modern slavery isn’t lurking in their businesses and wider supply chains.
As a responsible investor, we engaged with the UK government to press for the inclusion of s54 in the Act. Ever since then, we’ve pressed companies to comply with s54.
In 2024, one of our nine engagement priorities was to encourage compliance at UK companies in the FTSE 350 and on the AIM market for smaller listed companies.
In 2020 Rathbones launched Votes Against Slavery, a coalition of investors. Its members consider voting against a company’s annual financial statement and report if it’s failed to meet the demands of s54.
In 2022, the campaign won ‘Stewardship Initiative of the Year’ in the annual Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) awards & ‘ESG Engagement Initiative of the Year EMEA’ in 2024 for the Environmental Finance Awards.
By 2024 the coalition included 154 investors.
Rathbones has made modern slavery one of its six engagement priorities for 2025.
*Modern slavery is when someone loses their freedom and is exploited for personal or commercial gain.