Votes by MFs against investor resolutions at 7-yr high of 4.53% in CY2021

In absolute terms, MFs cast 61,000 votes last year, 11% more than previous year; of these, 92% were 'For', with 2.91% abstentions, the lowest in past 7 years

Mutual funds (MFs) may still be hesitant to take on India Inc head-on but their share of votes against shareholder resolutions has seen an uptick in the last calendar year.

The percentage of ‘against’ votes rose to 4.53 per cent in 2021, the highest in the past seven years for which data was analysed. It was 2.87 per cent in 2020 and 4.18 per cent in 2019. In developed markets, institutional investors typically vote against 5-10 per cent of shareholder resolutions floated by companies.

In absolute terms, MFs cast 61,000 votes last year, 11 per cent higher than the previous year but 13 per cent lower than 2019. Ninety two per cent of these are 'For' votes, with 2.91 per cent abstentions, the lowest in the last seven years.

Franklin Templeton has cast the most Against votes totalling 533 out of a total of 5161 votes. BOI AXA MF (219) and DSP MF (195) are the other two to have cast the most Against votes.

Voting at general meetings is a tool available to minority shareholders to influence decision-making.

The way Indian MFs vote assumes significance, as they have grown in clout over the years. With an equity corpus of over Rs 13 trillion, MFs are increasingly dictating market direction.

Voting patterns also assume importance in the light of the increasing stress on corporate governance.

Voting by Mutual Funds

	No.of Votes	Percentage
FOR	56,151	91.92
AGAINST	2,769	4.53
ABSTAIN	1,776	2.91
OTHERS	393	0.64
TOTAL	61,089	100.00