Perspectives and commentary

Thematic Insights focus on how we approach specific governance topics and share our expectations of company boards. Voting Insights disclose our rationale for how Vanguard funds voted on key proposals at specific companies. Perspectives share our views on important governance matters.

2023

Voting Insights

Contested board elections at Leonardo and Enel 

25 May 2023

This piece provides rationale for how the Vanguard-advised funds voted on contested director elections at two Italian companies. 

Risk oversight failure at Credit Suisse

15 May 2023

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard-advised funds voted against the discharge of board directors and senior management and did not support the reelection of two directors.

Shareholder proposal requesting a third-party assessment of workers’ rights commitments at Starbucks

15 May 2023

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard-advised funds did not support a shareholder proposal requesting a third-party assessment of the company’s commitment to freedom of association and collective bargaining rights. 

2022

Voting Insights

Dual share class proposal and a director election at Alphabet

27 July 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds supported the election of a director and a proposal that requested Alphabet eliminate its multi-share class structure.

Human capital management and compensation proposals at Amazon

19 July 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard equity index funds did not support a range of proposals focused on human capital management issues and executive compensation at Amazon.

Corporate political activity shareholder proposal at Flowers Foods

15 July 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard equity index funds supported a proposal requesting the company report on its political contributions.

Shareholder proposal at Sainsbury’s requesting real living wage accreditation

13 July 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard equity index funds did not support a living wage shareholder proposal at the U.K. retailer.

Shareholder proposal at Valero requesting disclosure of emissions reduction targets

21 June 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support a shareholder proposal focused on greenhouse gas emissions targets aligned with the Paris Agreement goals.

Key Votes

11 June 2022

The entries on this table are a representative sample of the types of proposals the Investment Stewardship team evaluated in 2021.

Say on Climate vote and other resolutions at Santos Limited

11 June 2022

This piece provides rationale for how the Vanguard funds voted on several proposals at the Australian energy company.

Merger, Say on Climate vote, and other resolutions at Woodside

12 June 2022

This piece provides rationale for how the Vanguard funds voted on several proposals at the Australian oil and gas producer

Shareholder proposal on lending for fossil fuel development at Goldman Sachs

3 June 22

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support a shareholder proposal at Goldman Sachs related to underwriting and lending for new fossil fuel development.

Proxy contest at Kohl’s over company strategy and board oversight

9 June 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds supported the reelection of all the company’s director nominees.

Proposals to approve the supervisory boards’ actions at German automakers

26 May 2022

This piece provides rationale for how the Vanguard funds voted on supervisory board proposals at Mercedes, BMW, and Volkswagen.

Our perspective on Say on Climate proposals

18 May 2022

The piece provides Vanguard’s views on proposals that encourage greater disclosure of climate risks and allow shareholders to cast recurring votes on energy transition plans.

Highlighting Vanguard’s views on executive compensation

14 May 2022

This piece provides Vanguard’s perspective on executive compensation plans, including the use of financial and nonfinancial metrics. 

Shareholder proposal on anticompetitive practices at Pfizer

11 May 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support a shareholder proposal that focused on anticompetitive practices at the pharmaceutical and biotechnology company.

Shareholder proposal on severance agreements at Abbvie

12 May 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support an executive compensation-related shareholder proposal at the biopharmaceutical company. 

Shareholder proposals regarding human capital management, climate, and an independent board chair at Berkshire Hathaway

03 May 2022

This piece provides rationale for how the Vanguard funds voted on certain shareholder proposals on the docket at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting.

Shareholder proposals related to pay gaps, civil rights, and concealment clauses at Apple

27 April 2022

This piece outlines rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support several shareholder proposals related to human capital management matters.

Director accountability at Discovery, Inc., for executive compensation practices

27 April 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds withheld support for certain compensation committee members due to concerns about executive compensation.

Shareholder proposal regarding executive compensation at AmerisourceBergen

24 March 2022

This piece provides rationale for why the Vanguard funds did not support a shareholder proposal that requested the board not use adjusted financial metrics when calculating executive compensation.

Shareholder proposal seeks science-based emissions targets at Costco

03 March 2022

This piece provides rationale for the Vanguard funds’ support for a shareholder proposal focused on GHG emissions at the operator of members-only warehouse outlets.

Policy Insights

Our expectations for portfolio companies in Latin America

18 March 2022

This piece outlines our principles of good governance and our regional expectations and is designed to be read alongside our proxy voting policies.

 

2021

Voting Insights

Environmental and social proposals at Origin Energy

13 December 2021

This piece provides the rationale for the Vanguard funds' votes on several shareholder proposals at the Australian utility.

Executive compensation and disclosures on lobbying and diversity at Fedex

03 November 2021

This piece provides rationale for the Vanguard funds' votes on several shareholder proposals at the package logistics company.

A request for enhanced diversity, equity, and inclusion disclosures at NIKE, Inc.

03 November 2021

This piece provides rationale for the Vanguard funds' votes on several shareholder proposals at the footwear and apparel company.

Diversity and human rights reporting at Tesla

03 November 2021

This piece provides rationale for the Vanguard funds' votes on several shareholder proposals at the electric vehicle manufacturer.

Management proposal to convert to a public benefit corporation at United Therapeutics

12 October 2021

This piece provides rationale for The Vanguard funds' vote on a proposal asking shareholders to approve the biotech company's conversion to a public benefit corporation.

Climate-related proposals, January-June 2021

24 September 2021

This piece provides the Vanguard funds' votes and supporting rationale on climate proposals for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

Diversity-related proposals, January-June 2021

24 September 2021

This piece provides the Vanguard funds' votes and supporting rationale on diversity proposals for the six months ended June 30, 2021.

AGL Energy

21 September 2021

This piece provides rationale for the Vanguard funds' recent votes at Australia's largest utility.

Proxy contest at Box, Inc.

13 September 2021

This piece provides rationale for our vote on a proxy contest involving risk oversight and shareholder rights at Box, Inc.

Executive compensation at Electronic Arts

31 August 2021

This piece provides rationale for a vote on named executive officer compensation at the video game company.

Proxy contest at Genesco

31 August 2021

This piece provides our rationale for a proxy contest vote related to oversight of strategy and risk at the branded footwear retailer.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion-related proposal at Amazon

07 July 2021

This piece provides Vanguard’s rationale for a vote on a diversity, equity, and inclusion-related proposal at Amazon.

Human rights shareholder proposal at American Tower

07 July 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on a human rights shareholder proposal at American Tower.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion at PayPal

07 July 2021

This piece provides Vanguard’s rationale for a vote on diversity, equity, and inclusion disclosures at PayPal.

Disclosures on lobbying, climate, and diversity and inclusion at UPS

07 July 2021

This piece provides Vanguard’s rationale for votes on lobbying, climate, and diversity and inclusion disclosures at UPS.

An independent investigation and director accountability votes at Toshiba

02 July 2021

In the wake of an independent investigation in Japan, this piece provides Vanguard's rationale for not supporting the reelection of several directors at Toshiba.

Racial equity audit shareholder proposal at Wells Fargo

25 June 2021

This piece provides Vanguard's rationale for a vote on a racial equity audit proposal at Wells Fargo.

Workers' rights and board accountability at Boohoo

18 June 2021

This piece provides the rationale for recent votes on executive remuneration and director elections at Boohoo.

Lobbying aligned to the Paris Agreement at Sempra Energy

15 June 2021

This piece provides rationale for a recent vote on a proposal requesting Sempra publish a report on how its lobbying activities align with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Emissions reduction targets and climate lobbying at Phillips 66

15 June 2021

This piece provides rationale for recent votes on proposals that focused on emissions reductions and lobbying activities at Phillips 66.

Climate-related proposals at Royal Dutch Shell

04 June 2021

This piece provides rationale for recent votes on climate-related proposals at Royal Dutch Shell.

Climate-related proposal at Union Pacific

04 June 2021

Vanguard's rationale for a recent climate-related vote at Union Pacific.

Independent chair and political contributions proposals at Duke

04 June 2021

This piece provides rationale for recent votes on independent chair and political contributions proposals at Duke Energy.

Independent chair proposal and lobbying disclosure at Dominion Energy

04 June 2021

This piece provides our rationale on recent votes on independent chair and lobbying disclosure proposals at Dominion.

Climate-related proposal at BP

27 May 2021

This piece provides rationale for a recent vote on a climate-related shareholder proposal at BP Plc.

Proxy contest at ExxonMobil

26 May 2021

This piece provides rationale for our votes on a proxy contest and shareholder proposals related to material risk oversight at Exxon.

A push for greater environmental and social risk disclosure at Charter Communications

18 May 2021

This piece provides the rationale for recent votes on several shareholder proposals at Charter Communications.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion disclosures at American Express

07 May 2021

This piece provides Vanguard's rationale for a recent vote on diversity, equity, and inclusion disclosures at American Express.

Executive remuneration and board accountability at Rio Tinto

06 May 2021

This piece provides the rationale for recent votes on executive remuneration and director elections at Rio Tinto.

Climate-related proposals at Santos Limited

05 May 2021

This piece provides Vanguard's rationale for recent climate-related votes at Santos Limited.

Climate-related proposals at Woodside Petroleum

05 May 2021

Vanguard's rationale for a recent climate-related vote at Woodside Petroleum.

Emission reduction targets at ConocoPhillips

04 May 2021

This piece provides rationale for a recent vote on a greenhouse gas emissions reduction proposal at ConocoPhillips.

Director elections and lobbying disclosure at Boeing

30 April 2021

This piece provides the rationale for recent votes on director elections and lobbying policy at Boeing.

Executive remuneration at UniCredit SpA

19 April 2021

Vanguard's rationale for a recent vote on executive remuneration at UniCredit.

Executive compensation at Disney

19 March 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on executive compensation at Disney.

Executive compensation at AmerisourceBergen

18 March 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on executive compensation at AmerisourceBergen.

Human rights disclosures at Sanderson Farms

24 February 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on human rights disclosures at Sanderson Farms.

Oversight of health and safety risks at Tyson

12 February 2021

This piece provides rationale for votes related to risk oversight at Tyson.

Executive compensation at Walgreens

12 February 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on executive compensation at Walgreens.

Shareholder rights at Siemens

12 February 2021

This piece explains the rationale for a vote on a shareholder rights proposal at Siemens.

Executive compensation at Aramark

12 February 2021

This piece provides the rationale for a recent vote on executive compensation at Aramark.

Policy Insights

Vanguard's expectations for companies with significant coal exposure

21 December 2021

This piece provides Vanguard's perspective on the risks that coal production and consumption can pose to long-term investors.

Vanguard Investment Stewardship: About our program

23 September 2021

This piece outlines Vanguard’s approach to investment stewardship and describes our people, principles, processes, and policies.

Insights: How we evaluate Say on Climate proposals

03 June 2021

Vanguard's perspectives on climate risk governance through Say on Climate proposals.

Insights: Shareholder proposals: Diversity, equity, and inclusion

28 May 2021

This piece covers Vanguard's approach to evaluating DEI-related shareholder proposals, including requests for third-party audits.

Insights: How we evaluate corporate political activity shareholder proposals

31 March 2021

This piece provides Vanguard's perspectives on a board's oversight of material risks related to political spending.

Insights: Director capacity and commitment

31 March 2021

This piece discusses how Vanguard evaluates instances in which public company directors may be "overboarded".

Insights: Executive compensation in times of crisis

24 February 2021

This piece reinforces Vanguard's perspectives on executive compensation for the long term.

How we evaluate shareholder proposals

18 March 2021

This piece discusses Vanguard's key considerations for shareholder proposal analysis.