An online survey conducted on behalf of Broadridge of more than 1,000 investors ages 18 and older from March 11-16, 2021, shows the significant impact today’s retail investors, and newer and younger investors in particular, are having – and will likely increasingly have - on the investment market and proxy voting.
Key takeaways include:
- 46% of millennial investors (ages 25-40) and 39% of investors with two years or less of investing experience (i.e., newer investors) said they will vote their proxies in 2021. 75% of investors (92% of millennial investors) would be more likely to vote their proxy if they knew they could do so through a mobile app.
- Among newer investors, 42% say they plan to vote because they want to have a voice on issues that are important to them and 38% feel it's their responsibility to vote. Most investors, particularly millennials, want the ability to vote their mutual fund or ETF shares – at least on the issues they care about most.
- Respondents identified social issues (e.g., board diversity), environmental issues, and M&A, as the top three issues they would be most interested in having a say on via their proxy voting.
- Most respondents believe that the companies they invest in should take active steps to address environmental concerns such as climate change (67%) and social issues, such as gender, ethnic, and racial D&I (62%).
Also noteworthy is how active the newer traders are, with 43% trading at least once a week. Their investment decisions reportedly are largely based on information they receive from reading or watching the news, friends, family, and social media.
See “Retail investors: Millennials most likely to vote their proxy, finds new survey” (IR Magazine) and additional resources on our Individual (Retail) Investors and Proxy Season 2021 pages.
This post first appeared in the weekly Society Alert!