Companies should not sue shareholders over proposals, according to a group of over 40 major institutional investors from the US and Europe who issued a statement on Tuesday.
The $4.8 trillion asset management group brought attention to the climate resolution lawsuit that Exxon Mobil has launched against two environmental groups.
They warned that firms’ increased reliance on judicial rulings to resolve shareholder proposal disputes will hurt long-term investors.
“We are concerned that these actions will deter the filing of proposals concerning sustainability issues that are material to the performance of our equity and fixed income portfolios,” according to investors.
“We want to protect the right of shareholders to use their vote to decide for themselves when a proposal, sustainability-related or otherwise, is in their best interests and that of their stakeholders.”
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ExxonMobil
Pension funds APG and PGGM, as well as the Dutch insurer NN, are part of the company. Other investors from the United States and Europe include the Nordic banks Nordea and Swedbank, as well as a number of others.
They agreed with the US Council of Institutional Investors’ (UCI) February request that corporations submit shareholder resolution disputes to the SEC for resolution.
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