STEWARDSHIP RESPONSIBILITIES OF REAL INVESTORS AND VOTING ACTIVITIES: SURVEYING INSTITUTIONS THAT SIGNED UP FOR JAPAN'S STEWARDSHIP CODE

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 実質株主による議決権行使とスチュワードシップ責任の考え方
  • 実質株主による議決権行使とスチュワードシップ責任の考え方 : スチュワードシップ・コード受入機関へのアンケート結果から
  • ジッシツ カブヌシ ニ ヨル ギケツケン コウシ ト スチュワードシップ セキニン ノ カンガエカタ : スチュワードシップ ・ コード ウケイレ キカン エ ノ アンケート ケッカ カラ
  • ──スチュワードシップ・コード受入機関へのアンケート結果から──

Search this article

Description

<p> How do Japanese institutional investors exercise voting and have a dialogue with investee companies to fulfill stewardship responsibilities and fiduciary duties? Additionally, when institutional investors entrust their custodies, who sets voting policy, votes on shareholder measures, and has a dialogue?</p><p> In February 2014, Japan enacted a Stewardship Code prescribing a set of principles governing institutional investors' actions. Japan's Stewardship Code requests “stewardship responsibility” because institutional investors have a significant impact on the investee companies. In the current Japanese stock market, the rate of investments by foreign institutional investors is above 30%; moreover, the rate of Japanese institutional investors is also increasing.</p><p> Institutional investors today own the highest percentage of publicly listed stocks in Japan. However, securities filings identify “Japan Trustee Services Bank” and “The Master Trust Bank of Japan” as major shareholders because institutional investors often assign their shares to trustees performing different levels of tasks for their institutional clients. We need to know who sets voting policy and votes on shareholder measures.</p><p> I submitted a questionnaire to institutional investors who accepted Japan's Stewardship Code to investigate how they vote and have a dialogue when they entrust administration. The investigation results showed that many institutional investors set guidelines for voting or examine each shareholder measure themselves to fulfill their stewardship responsibilities. If asset owners entrust the management or administration with their assets, they engage with asset managers to decide on the vote after monitoring the investee companies and having a dialogue with them.</p><p> I also inquired about the rate and frequency of dialogue with the investee companies and discovered that although the frequency of dialogues depends on each institution, many Japanese institutional investors proactively engage in dialogue. Japanese institutional investors intend to fulfill the stewardship responsibilities by monitoring companies' situations, and they (real investors) have changed to engage with the investee companies.</p>

Journal

Details 詳細情報について

Report a problem

Back to top