Interactive Investor adds voting button for shareholders on app
Interactive Investor adds a voting button to the mobile app to improve DIY shareholder engagement
- Investors using ii’s app receive notifications through a voice mailbox
- They are also informed about the annual general meetings
Shareholders investing through do-it-yourself investment platforms can now participate in major corporate voices on their phones for the first time.
Investment platform Interactive Investor has added a voting button to its mobile app to make it easier for the UK’s army of small shareholders to vote on decisions that affect the companies they invest in.
When you buy a stock, you become a part owner of the company and thus have the ability to vote on decisions such as executive compensation, dividends and board applications.
Interative Investor users can now vote for companies they invest in through their mobile app
Interactive Investor CEO Richard Wilson says that while small investors have been able to vote online through the platform for some time, the vast majority do not, and voter engagement has declined over the past year.
“So far this year, 93 percent of UK votes on Interactive Investor have been lost,” he says. “If we can move the dial even just a few percentage points, it will have an impact.”
Investors using the group’s app will receive notifications through a voice mailbox and will also be notified of annual general meetings.
The move is the latest effort to improve shareholder engagement with DIY investors. Shareholder activist groups have called on platforms to make voting easier.
Simon Rawson, of the campaign group Share Action for sustainable investing, says: ‘Shareholders need to be equipped with information and guidance so that they can really exercise their rights.’
In the past, smaller shareholders held their shares directly with companies and attended AGMs in person. This usually made it easier for them to get in touch with the companies.
Many small shareholders now track their portfolios through platforms such as AJ Bell, Hargreaves Lansdown and Interactive Investor. But these groups are not required to offer voting rights to customers.
Technological advancements and the pandemic have radically changed the way shares are held and how companies treat their shareholders.
The government’s Digitization Task Force said last week that there should be no distinction in access to rights between shareholders registered directly and those holding shares through intermediaries.