Quest voted on 263 resolutions at 30 meetings in the year to December 2021.
In 17% of meetings, Quest recorded an AGAINST vote.
These included BHP, Commonwealth Bank, Fortescue, IAG and Rio Tinto.
In 3% of resolutions, Quest voted AGAINST the proposed resolution.
The voting process can entail extensive discussion with the Board and management of investee companies.
Our guiding principles regarding voting are:
- Voting rights should be exercised and in the best interests of clients;
- Relevant and available information will be considered in forming a decision;
- Abstaining from voting is considered in limited circumstances (ie. excluded from voting by the Corporations Act; a conflict of interest exists or not in the interest of clients to vote)
- A platform/mandate may not allow Quest to vote.
The voting decision is determined by the relevant portfolio manager.
Quest consider research from various proxy advisor professionals including Ownership Matters & ASCI. We lodge votes via the ISS platform.