T. ROWE PRICE GROUP, INC. | Review and report on ESG proxy voting at T. Rowe Price Group, Inc.

Status
16.82% votes in favour
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Proposal number
4
Resolution details
Company ticker
TROW
Lead filer
Zevin Asset Management
Resolution ask
Report on or disclose
ESG theme
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • Corporate purpose
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Financials
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
Resolved: Shareowners request that the Board of Directors initiate a review and issue a report on the proxy voting policies and practices of its subsidiaries related to climate change, prepared at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, and including an assessment of any incongruities between the Company's public statements and pledges regarding climate change (including ESG risk considerations associated with climate change), and the voting policies and practices of its subsidiaries.
Whereas clause
Whereas: T. Rowe Price Group is a respected leader in the financial services industry with several policies and practices addressing environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics.

TROW's "Policy Statement on Environmental, Social, and Governance Issues" describes how "ESG risk considerations" are incorporated into investment decisions. That policy expresses TROW's belief that ESG issues can influence investment risk and return, thus affirming that such issues must be addressed carefully by investors.

In its "Guidelines for Incorporating Environmental and Social Factors," TROW acknowledges the importance of climate change risk: "We believe that speaking with company managements and other stakeholders about climate change is a good way to gather valuable investment insights as to the management's process for assessing long-term risks and helps reinforce the notion that climate-related risk assessment should remain a priority."

TROW seems knowledgeable about the risks of climate change and the need for action by companies.

TROW's subsidiaries, which vote proxies, are guided by clients' economic interests and support certain governance reforms proposed by shareholders who believe that these issues affect shareholder value. We believe ESG issues such as climate change risk also have a profound impact on shareholder value.

TROW is a member of the Principles for Responsible Investment, a global network of investors and asset owners representing more than $100 trillion in assets. One of the Principles encourages investors to vote conscientiously on ESG issues.

Yet the 2020 publicly reported proxy voting records for TROW's subsidiaries reveal consistent votes against the vast majority of climate-focused shareholder proposals, such as requests for enhanced disclosure or adoption of greenhouse gas reduction goals, even when independent experts advance a strong business and economic case for support. In contrast, funds managed by investment firms such as JPMorgan, Columbia, and State Street supported the majority of climate-focused resolutions in 2020. TROW's own "2020 Aggregate Proxy Voting Summary" reports only 17 percent support for resolutions on environmental topics.

The voting practices of subsidiaries appear inconsistent with our Company's statements about ESG and climate change. This contradiction poses reputational risk with both clients and investors. Moreover, proxy voting practices that do not properly take account of climate change seem to ignore significant company-specific and economy-wide risks associated with negative impacts of climate change.

Investors seek information on whether the practices of TROW and its subsidiaries are suited to address material ESG considerations in proxy voting.

How other organisations have declared their voting intentions

Organisation name Declared voting intentions Rationale
Boston Trust Walden For
KBI Global Investors For
Kutxabank Gestion SGIIC SAU. For
Universities Superannuation Scheme - USS For We would welcome enhanced reporting of climate related risks.

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.