We exercise active ownership through voting, appointing boards, dialogue, legal proceedings, influencing self-regulation and legislation, as well as exclusion. Our actions sometimes vary slightly between Sweden and other markets.
Voting a strong tool
We vote at general meetings as often as possible. The aim is to vote at all general meetings in Swedish companies, and as far as is practically possible in foreign companies.
We are most active in issues relating to board election and remuneration issues. Remuneration should not steer a company in the wrong direction.
Sweden
In Swedish companies, the shareholders have the right to vote and make proposals to the general meeting of shareholders. We vote at the general meetings of all 28 companies in which we hold shares. Corporate governance in Sweden follows the Companies Act, with a clear division of roles between owners, board and executive management, as well as far-reaching owner influence.
Developed markets outside of Sweden
Outside of Sweden, we vote in almost all companies on developed markets. We use external experts, who analyse the meeting agenda and draw up a foundation for our decisions.
Companies abroad often operate under different conditions to those in Sweden. For instance, the CEO and the board chairman are often the same person, and a certain number of votes are required for a proposal to be put forward at the meeting. Because there is less owner influence, we more often vote against the board’s recommendations.
Emerging markets outside of Sweden
Voting on emerging markets calls for wide-ranging knowledge of each company and country. We do vote to a certain extent, through carefully selected external asset managers.
Influence on nomination committees
The Fund is participating in more and more nomination committees and actively contributes to proposing candidates for the boards of Swedish listed companies. We strive to ensure the boards have the right composition with regard to expertise, integrity and diversity.
