More in Corporate Governance

Proxy Voting

As a long-term shareowner, we view proxy voting as one of the primary ways to influence a company's operations and corporate governance practices. It is therefore important for shareowners like us to vote our proxies based on the full understanding of publicly available information.

We vote our proxies in accordance with our Governance & Sustainability Principles, and publicly post our votes in advance of each company's annual general meeting.

Governance & Sustainability Principles

As part of the Total Fund Policy adopted by the CalPERS Board, through its Investment Committee, CalPERS has a set of Governance and Sustainability Principles. For more information on CalPERS proxy voting, read the CalPERS Governance & Sustainability Principles (PDF).

Proxy Voting Guidelines

The CalPERS proxy voting guidelines provide an overview of our general philosophy and approach to the most important and commonly presented proxy voting items. Our proxy voting guidelines should be read in conjunction with the CalPERS Governance & Sustainability Principles. We vote our proxies in a manner consistent with these principles and in the interests of our beneficiaries. Read more about our Proxy Voting Guidelines (PDF) and Executive Compensation Analysis Framework (PDF).

Notable Proxy Votes

We publish additional voting information to highlight some Notable Proxy Votes to encourage shareowners to vote in accordance with CalPERS. All votes are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice.

Proxy Solicitations

CalPERS conducts proxy solicitations on shareowner proposals either filed by CalPERS or shareowner proposals that are aligned with CalPERS initiatives. You can view CalPERS proxy solicitations at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website.

Vote Disclosure

We publish our proxy voting decisions to encourage shareowners to vote in accordance with CalPERS. These votes are for informational purposes only and not intended as investment advice.

To view a record of CalPERS' proxy votes as of January 1, 2015, visit Global Proxy Voting Decisions.

Below are CalPERS' proxy voting trends over the past seven fiscal years:

Global Proxy Votes

Figure 1: Number of Meetings Voted Globally
The bar chart below shows the number of meetings voted globally for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 11,682 meetings in fiscal year 2015-2016, 11,512 meetings in fiscal year 2016-2017, 11,404 meetings in fiscal year 2017-2018, 11,300 meetings in fiscal year 2018-2019, 14,507 meetings in fiscal year 2019-2020, 15,847 meetings in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 8,679 meetings in fiscal year 2021-2022.
Figure 2: Number of Resolutions Voted Globally
The bar chart below shows the number of resolutions voted globally for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 107,639 resolutions in fiscal year 2015-2016, 108,834 resolutions in fiscal year 2016-2017, 105,717 resolutions in fiscal year 2017-2018, 107,670 resolutions in fiscal year 2018-2019, 134,091 resolutions in fiscal year 2019-2020, 147,151 resolutions in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 86,016 resolution in fiscal year 2021-2022.
Figure 3: Global Management Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of management proposals voted globally and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 106,361 management proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 107,445 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 104,763 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 106,673 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 132,999 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 146,145 in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 84,998 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 89% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 82% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 83% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 78% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 75% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 75% in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 76% in fiscal year 2021-2022.
Figure 4: Global Shareowner Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of shareowner proposals voted globally and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 1,278 shareowner proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 1,389 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 954 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 997 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 1,092 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 1,006 in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 1,018 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 46% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 43% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 58% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 62% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 58% in fiscal year 2019-2020 and 52% in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 51% in fiscal year 2021-2022.

United States Proxy Votes

Figure 5: United States Management Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of United States management proposals voted and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 28,706 United States management proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 30,214 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 27,583 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 27,075 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 27,283 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 28,750 in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 12,473 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 90% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 86% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 87% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 83% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 74% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 72% in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 76% in fiscal year 2021-2022.
Figure 6: United States Shareowner Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of United States shareowner proposals voted and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 567 United States shareowner proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 492 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 506 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 484 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 505 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 518 in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 555 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 82% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 82% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 86% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 87% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 83% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 80% in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 75% in fiscal year 2021-2022.

International Proxy Votes

Figure 7: International Management Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of international management proposals voted and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 77,655 international management proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 77,231 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 77,180 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 79,598 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 105,716 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 117,395 in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 72,525 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 89% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 81% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 82% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 77% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 75% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 76% in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 76% in fiscal year 2021-2022.
Figure 8: International Shareowner Proposals
The bar chart below shows the number of international shareowner proposals voted and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 711 international shareowner proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 897 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 448 is fiscal year 2017-2018, 513 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 587 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 488 in fiscal year2020-2021, and 463 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 17% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 22% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 26% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 40% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 37% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 24% in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 22% in fiscal year 2021-2022.

Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation

Figure 9: United States Executive Compensation Votes
The bar chart below shows the number of United States executive compensation, also known as say on pay, proposals voted and the support level for those proposals for fiscal years 2015-2016 to 2021-2022. The fiscal year starts on July 1 and ends on June 30 of the following year. We voted 2,492 say-on-pay proposals in fiscal year 2015-2016, 2,686 in fiscal year 2016-2017, 2,473 in fiscal year 2017-2018, 2,489 in fiscal year 2018-2019, 2,600 in fiscal year 2019-2020, 2,592 in fiscal year 2020-2021 and 1,061 in fiscal year 2021-2022. The support level was 21% in fiscal year 2015-2016, 19% in fiscal year 2016-2017, 39% in fiscal year 2017-2018, 52% in fiscal year 2018-2019, 51% in fiscal year 2019-2020, 54% in fiscal year 2020-2021, and 48% in fiscal year 2021-2022.


Corporate Governance