More importantly, the platform provides overseas institutional investors with the extra time needed to make quality decisions. ICJ’s platform provides voters with proxy statements and meeting materials immediately upon release by participating issuers, and allows voting well past the normal “Eight Business Days prior to Meeting Date” deadline. For just the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, institutional investors are required to collect information on over 1,300 companies, and analyze well over 6,000 proposals. The greatest concentration of meetings is the last week in June.
Prior to the introduction of the ICJ platform in Japan, proxy statements were delayed in arriving and cutoff deadlines were set at eight business days prior to the meeting date. This afforded only 2-3 days for investors to review, research and vote over one thousand agendas - a daunting task to say the least.
With the clock running it becomes more difficult for investors to consider their positions carefully and vote in the best interests of shareholders. ICJ’s platform stretches the previous three day window to at least ten days on average, providing the time necessary for institutional investors to properly execute their votes. The old system encouraged blanket voting with little time given to research. ICJ’s platform gives institutional investors the necessary time and materials to properly carry out their voting responsibilities as asset managers. |
