Following up on a prior piece from Glass Lewis, this article sheds light on the operational aspects of stewardship, including its administration, technology adoption, integrations with proxy voting and engagement, and team size. Here’s a summary:
1. Investment Strategy Shapes Stewardship Priorities: Concentrated investors devote more resources to research, while diversified investors place greater emphasis on analysis and reporting.
2. Technology Adoption Faces Practical Constraints: Interest in specialized stewardship technology is tempered by budget limitations (63%) and system compatibility concerns (29%).
3. Voting and Engagement Are Converging: 76% of respondents seek to integrate voting and engagement, with asset managers assigning higher priority to this effort than asset owners.
4. Current Stewardship Resources Are Viewed as Sufficient: Most respondents believe existing stewardship staffing is adequate, particularly where investment teams share or lead stewardship responsibilities.
