Hargreaves Lansdown offers retail investors voting opportunities

Hargreaves Lansdown is allowing retail investors to vote on their share holdings through the HL platform in a move to increase their say in governance.

Owners of all 5800 UK and European equities on the platform will be able to vote and access all upcoming shareholder meetings such as AGM. The service uses Broadridge’s proxy voting platform.

Tom Lee, Head of Trading Proposition, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Retail investors are taking a keener interest in having the power to influence corporations on important issues such as board diversity, climate change and sustainability. Providing a new digital capability for this self-service system gives retail investors a greater say in the governance of the companies in which they hold shares and the democratisation of markets.

“Our new online voting service is just one of a number of developments aimed at enabling clients to engage with, and defend, their investment.  HL is passionate about giving power to the retail investor – and having a say in key votes is just the beginning.”

Demi Derem, General Manager of International Investor Communication Solutions at Broadridge: “Retail investor ESG requirements have changed. Having a say in how the companies they invest in operate has become a big deal. Subsequently shareholder voting functionality has never been more important.

“Increasing retail investor participation is part of our ongoing mission to drive greater shareholder participation and improve overall standards around corporate governance.”

The idea of individual investors pooling their votes to achieve outcomes has been gaining traction, with several fintechs engaged in the area such as Tulipshare, which describes itself as “Change.org meets retail investing”.

While there is no specific advertising campaign planned for this, Hargreaves Lansdown will be communicating directly with clients who hold shares about the service and writing a wider article to inform them more about the service and why shareholder activism is important. It will also be supported by the press launch today and a social media campaign from both Hargreaves Lansdown and Broadridge.