Definition
Proxy Advisory Firm
A proxy advisory firm analyses resolutions at shareholder meetings and recommends how institutional investors should vote.
Proxy advisers research AGM and EGM agenda items — director re-appointments, executive pay, related-party transactions, mergers — and issue 'for' or 'against' recommendations to help institutional shareholders vote responsibly. In India, firms like IiAS and SES are prominent, and SEBI has framed a code of conduct for them.
Their influence has grown with the rise of e-voting and institutional ownership, and they have driven greater scrutiny of governance practices. Companies increasingly engage with proxy advisers ahead of contentious votes.
Related terms
- Annual General Meeting (AGM)An AGM is the yearly meeting at which a company's shareholders vote on key matters such as accounts, dividends and director appointments.
- E-VotingE-voting is the electronic casting of votes by shareholders on company resolutions, before or during a general meeting.
- Say-on-PaySay-on-pay is the principle that shareholders should be able to vote on the remuneration of a company's senior executives and directors.
Plain-English explainer from The Dispatch Investors Encyclopedia. General information, not financial advice.