BlackRock is expanding its Voting Choice program to allow more clients invested in its equity index funds to cast proxy votes.
Prior to October last year, BlackRock accommodated a group of institutional clients with indexed equity assets totaling $410 billion that wanted to make their own shareholder votes, said a BlackRock spokesman.
Since the formal launch of BlackRock's Voting Choice program in October, eligible institutional investors committed an additional $120 billion to the program for a total of $530 billion or about 25% of the $2.3 trillion of eligible indexed equity assets within the proxy-voting program, a BlackRock news release showed.
The $2.3 trillion of eligible indexed equity in the shareholder voting program represents 47% of BlackRock's total $4.9 trillion of passively managed equity strategies.
BlackRock has expanded the range of institutional pooled funds offering shareholder voting to more asset owners in the U.K., Canada and Ireland and is working on a "proof of concept" for individual investors in the U.K. to participate in the Voting Choice program, the release said.
The firm said the program expands the opportunity for proxy voting by public and private pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds.
Within the Voting Choice program, investors can control their own voting, choose to vote only on issues that matter to them, select from seven different voting policies, or continue to rely on BlackRock's stewardship office.
"Our clients have a range of investment horizons, risk preferences and financial needs. We understand that some clients are seeking increased customization, including the opportunity to align their voting with their unique investment philosophies or their views," said Sandy Boss, senior managing director and global head of BlackRock investment stewardship, in the release.
BlackRock managed a total of $9.6 trillion across all strategies as of March 31.
Bloomberg contributed to this story.
