Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund is calling on its external managers to disclose the details of the proxy shareholder votes they exercise on behalf of the ¥144 trillion ($1.3 trillion) Tokyo-based pension fund.
In a statement posted on its website, the GPIF went a bit further, urging its money managers to disclose details of voting records on behalf of all clients, not just the GPIF.
The move is in line with a revision to the stewardship code announced by Japan's Financial Services Agency on May 29, calling on institutional investors to disclose “voting records for each investee company on an individual item basis.”
Norihiro Takahashi, GPIF president, said in the statement that such action will push the focus of corporate governance reform in Japan from “form” to “substance,” enhancing investment returns for the pension fund's beneficiaries over the mid- to long term.
