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The presentation of an institutional investor's voting positions on the Broadridge proxy administration web site, reported below, is a major step in the development of a clearinghouse for shareholder voting recommendations.  An idea that was initiated by the Investor Responsibility Research Center (IRRC) before its sale to ISS (now part of RiskMetrics), the open exchange project was revived with Shareholder Forum support by Glass Lewis and Broadridge in their 2006 venture to provide fully integrated proxy voting research and recommendations on the widely used ProxyEdge administrative platform, and expanded by the 2007 addition of UK-based PIRC research.

For other reports relating to evolving processes for investor access to decision-making information, see

 

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., May 27, 2009 press release

 

PR Newswire
 
Press Release

Source: Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. .

CalSTRS Turns to Broadridge for Electronic Voting Proxy Services

On Wednesday May 27, 2009, 8:00 am EDT

LAKE SUCCESS, NY--(MARKET WIRE)--May 27, 2009 -- Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR) today announced that the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS) -- the nation's second-largest public pension fund and an advocate for good corporate governance -- has become the first institutional investor to pre-disclose their voting decisions through Broadridge's ProxyEdge® integrated vote recommendation service. This will now allow other institutional investors with voting policies similar to CalSTRS to compare and align their votes with them.

ProxyEdge is Broadridge's suite of electronic voting services that help simplify the management of institutional proxies by providing access to third-party recommendations and/or pre-disclosure of third-party vote decisions. ProxyEdge allows institutions to manage, track, reconcile and report proxy voting through electronic delivery of ballots, online voting, and integrated reporting and record keeping to help institutions satisfy their SEC requirements.

CalSTRS' assets under management totaled $111.6 billion, as of March 31, 2009. As long-term owners and lenders to corporations around the world, CalSTRS' responsibility is to protect those assets through the pursuit of good governance and operational accountability.

Broadridge offers a full-range of comprehensive e-solutions that enhance institutional investor communication. "Our partnership with CalSTRS is an example of Broadridge's goal to provide more market participants with the ability to meet their voting objectives thoughtfully and efficiently," said MaryEllen Andersen, Vice President, Issuer & Institutional Relations, Broadridge. Ms. Anderson added, "By pre-disclosing votes via ProxyEdge, institutional investors which have voting policies similar to CalSTRS are able to weigh their proxy decisions against those of CalSTRS, enabling greater voting consistency among like-minded investors."

About Broadridge

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., with over $2.2 billion in revenues in fiscal year 2008 and more than 40 years of experience, is a leading global provider of technology-based outsourcing solutions to the financial services industry. Our systems and services include investor communication, securities processing, and clearing and outsourcing solutions. We offer advanced, integrated systems and services that are dependable, scalable and cost-efficient. Our systems help reduce the need for clients to make significant capital investments in operations infrastructure, thereby allowing them to increase their focus on core business activities. For more information about Broadridge, please visit www.broadridge.com.

About CalSTRS

The California State Teachers' Retirement System administers retirement, disability and survivor benefits for California's 833,000 public school educators and their families from the state's 1,400 school districts, county offices of education and community college districts. CalSTRS has developed robust policies and standards for fair and open governance of corporations. As long-term owners and lenders to corporations around the world, the Fund's duty is to protect those assets through the pursuit of good governance and operational accountability. The investment portfolio is broadly diversified into six asset categories. For more information, www.calstrs.com.

Contact:

     Media Contact:
     Jennifer Connelly
     JCPR, Inc.
     (973) 732-3521
     Email Contact
      
     Broadridge Media Contact:
     Arlene Driscoll
     Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.
     212-981-1347
     Email Contact

 

 

 

 

 

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