The Basics
The FactSet Proxy Proposals & N-PX DataFeed provides details on annual company meetings, the proxy proposals presented in those meetings, results of those proposals, and the individual fund votes cast that contributed to the proxy proposal outcome. Upcoming proposals during each proxy season will be available to facilitate the preparation of investment managers for any forthcoming votes cast of held securities. Proposal and N-PX details are updated daily using SEC-sourced filings. Due to the seasonality of the content, there will be higher volume of updates during scheduled proxy notifications (February-March), annual meetings held (May-June), and reporting of institutional voting (December-August).
The Coverage
Coverage for the FactSet Proposal & N-PX DataFeed can be viewed by collected companies, annual proxy proposals, and fund voting. Content for proposals is gathered from the Definitive 14A (Definitive Proxy Statement) SEC filings. This leads regional company coverage to be predominately North America. For a country-level break down of the feed’s company annual meeting and proxy proposal coverage, see the chart below.
In addition to company coverage, FactSet is continually expanding its annual meeting and proxy proposal collection with approximately 5,000 company meetings and 46,000 proposal results per year. History for annual meetings is back to 2005 with proxy proposals details beginning in 2008.
Fund proxy proposal voting results are sourced from SEC N-PX filings and available for the top 100 institution by AUM (assets under management) with history beginning in 2016. Along with individual funds, FactSet aggregates voting results by institution presenting a holistic summary of how a fund family votes across proxy proposals.
The Differentiators
An important differentiator for FactSet Proposal & N-PX is the connections that can be made to other content sets which bolsters the value of proxy proposal data. A direct link can be made with proposal voting and FactSet Ownership fund holdings. Using common shares outstanding that are recorded at the time of annual meeting, users can determine percentage held by both fund and fund institution to measure their potential voting impact. The below chart depicts a historical proxy proposal result for Exxon, N-PX fund voting results for that proposal, and shares/percent held by funds prior to voting.
Company
|
Meeting
Date
|
Proposal
Record Date
|
Proposal ID
|
Proposal Type
|
Vote Result
|
Company Shares
Outs. at Proxy
|
|
Exxon Mobil Corp.
|
5/26/2021
|
3/29/2021
|
2144361581
|
Elect Dissident's
Director Nominee
|
Pass
|
4233522767
|
Voting Fund
|
Fund Vote Cast
|
Holdings
Report Date
|
Fund Shares Held
|
% Held of Company Shares
Outs. at Proxy
|
|
Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
119127544
|
2.814%
|
|
Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
89664801
|
2.118%
|
|
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
86665827
|
2.047%
|
|
Vanguard Institutional Index Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
33854440
|
0.800%
|
|
Vanguard Value Index Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
30485838
|
0.720%
|
|
Franklin Income Fund (US)
|
Against/Withhold
|
3/31/2021
|
25000000
|
0.591%
|
|
Vanguard Energy Index Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
22696598
|
0.536%
|
|
Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index ETF
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
15063748
|
0.356%
|
|
Fidelity Series Growth & Income Fund
|
For
|
3/31/2021
|
10867043
|
0.257%
|
|
DFA US Large Cap Value Series
|
Against/Withhold
|
4/30/2021
|
7551546
|
0.178%
|
Along with FactSet Ownership, conclusions can be drawn by combining proxy proposal results with the FactSet People database. The FactSet Person Identifier of the Nominee will be provided in 75% of proposals categorized as “Elect Dissident's Director Nominee” or “Elect Management's Director Nominee.” Moreover, using past voting results on specific nominees can help with anticipating the outcome of their future elections.
In addition to links with other content sets, FactSet collects up to 50 proxy proposal data points. Complete text fields are gathered for proposal summary, company response, proponent statement, and statement in opposition.
Example Use Cases
ESG Votes on the Rise
Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG)-focused investing is no doubt generating an increasing impact on the market and how public companies operate. This can be visually represented through three categories: the annual volume of ESG proxy proposals, ESG proposal results, and the overall average of individual proposal percentage for shareholder votes.
All three categories have risen year over year since 2016 and continue to rise. Companies are being presented with growing ESG shareholder- and management-generated proposals at annual meetings and the percentage of those proposals which pass are on an upward trend. FactSet calculates the percentage of shareholder votes which voted in support of each proposal. The average of this metric each year shows a strengthening conviction in shareholders to vote in favor of ESG proposals. Future proxy seasons are expected to track in similar direction.
This same aggregate analysis can be adapted for the other 150 FactSet proposal types, eight proposal categories, and 15 subcategories.
Fund Institution Voting by Category
FactSet Proposal & N-PX content can be used at a micro level to observe voting tendencies of individual funds and investment institutions. FactSet collects individual fund proxy votes and aggregates them to an institutional summary. The below example displays how BlackRock, Inc. funds voted in proxy season for proposals related to Management Proposed Advisory Vote on Compensation (say on pay) as well as proposals categorized as ESG.
The details provided above are as of June 2022.
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