What drives sustainable institutional engagement and voting behavior?

Martin Nerlinger, Martin Rohleder, Marco Wilkens and Jonas Zink
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Martin Nerlinger: University of St. Gallen - School of Finance; Swiss Finance Institute
Martin Rohleder: University of Augsburg
Marco Wilkens: University of Augsburg

No 25-89, Swiss Finance Institute Research Paper Series from Swiss Finance Institute

Abstract: We examine what drives institutional engagement and voting on ESG-related shareholder proposals, using data from PRI and Morningstar. We find that personal engagement often substitutes for voting, especially among large fund families and those using meetings or site visits. Funds that vote more often or disclose less are less supportive of ESG proposals, while those filing proposals or outsourcing votes show more support. Collaborative engagement and longer PRI membership correlate with stronger ESG voting. Though engagement-active funds don't show major ESG performance gains, they increasingly support firms' ESG improvements, highlighting the role of active ownership in promoting sustainability.

Keywords: active ownership; voting; engagement; disclosure; service providers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: G10 G23 M14 Q54 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 47 pages
Date: 2025-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cdm, nep-env, nep-pol and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:chf:rpseri:rp2589

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