Active Stewardship and ESG-linked Executive Remuneration
Allianz Global Investors enhances governance and sustainability practices. Participation in 8.879 shareholder meetings in 2024, voting on 90.000 shareholder proposals.
Photo credit: AllianzGI
Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing - Antje Stobbe, Head of Stewardship
- 2025 Policy updates: New guidelines focus on ESG-linked executive remuneration, dual-class shares and companies’ net-zero strategies, emphasising minority shareholder rights and sustainability.
- Active stewardship: AllianzGI participated in 8,879 shareholder meetings in 2024, voting on around 90,000 proposals, and opposed or abstained on at least one agenda item at 72% of all meetings.
- Board quality: AllianzGI voted against 22% of directors in 2024 due to concerns about tenure, overboarding, and committee independence.
Allianz Global Investors (AllianzGI) as one of the world’s leading active investment managers, presented its annual analysis of how it voted at Annual General Meetings (AGMs) globally. The asset management team participated in 8,879 (2023: 9,137) shareholder meetings and voted on around 90,000 shareholder and management proposals.
Matt Christensen, Global Head of Sustainable and Impact Investing:“AllianzGI is committed to driving positive change through proxy voting and responsible investment practices. Our dedication to stewardship and forward-looking approach will ensure that we remain at the forefront of advocating for high governance standards and the protection of minority shareholder rights. We remain committed to delivering pragmatic, real-world sustainability solutions and are excited to advance this in 2025 and beyond.”
AllianzGI voted against, withheld, or abstained from at least one agenda item at 72% (2023: 71%) of all meetings globally. The firm opposed 19% of capital-related proposals, 22% of director elections, and 41% of remuneration-related proposals, reflecting its high expectations for governance standards.
AllianzGI reviews its proxy voting guidelines annually to reflect evolving expectations for companies. For 2025, the firm has implemented several new rules, further emphasising the importance of minority shareholder rights and enhancing its approach to sustainability in proxy voting.
- Executive Remuneration: AllianzGI is implementing a rule requiring ESG-related KPIs for small- and mid-cap companies in developed markets (ex Asia) in 2025.
- Net-Zero Strategy: AllianzGI will increasingly hold directors accountable if a company lacks a credible net-zero strategy. Starting in 2025, voting decisions will be based on its proprietary Net-Zero Alignment Share Methodology1, which provides a standardized way to assess companies’ progress on net-zero goals across sectors and markets.
- Gender Diversity: AllianzGI has extended its gender diversity guidelines to small- and mid-cap companies in developed markets (ex-Asia), expecting no more than 70% of any board to be of one gender.
- Shareholder Rights: AllianzGI is strengthening its guidelines on shareholder rights, including opposing dual-class share structures in Europe and the US, which disadvantage minority shareholders, as well as voting against companies exploiting benefits from new capital market regulations like the DDL Capitali law in Italy.
Promoting High-Quality Boards
AllianzGI places high importance on board quality, believing that strong governance is closely linked to better financial performance and high sustainability standards. The asset manager also stresses the importance of proactive succession planning. Adequate and proactive succession planning is necessary for board chairs as well as executive directors.
Antje Stobbe, Head of Stewardship at AllianzGI: "A particular focus remains on succession plans for the chairperson. We want to understand the key competencies required for the incoming chair to effectively lead the board, as well as how the search process is managed. The incoming chair should possess strong leadership skills, industry experience, unquestionable independence, and enough time to lead the board, especially in times of crisis."
Refer to more information on the voting statistics by country or location and corporate policy guidelines here.