Voting advisory service meaning

A voting advisory service (also called a proxy advisory service) is a specialist firm or industry body that provides research, voting recommendations and tools to help institutional investors set voting policies and exercise shareholder voting rights at general meetings. Typical outputs include analyses of AGM/EGM resolutions, governance and ESG assessments, custom voting guidelines, vote execution and post‑vote reporting, and engagement support aligned with the UK Stewardship Code. Common providers used in the UK and Ireland include Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Glass Lewis, Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC), and the investment association’s Institutional Voting Information Service (IVIS). The pensions and lifetime savings association (plsa, formerly NAPF) also issues widely followed voting guidelines. The term is descriptive in practice; legislation generally uses proxy adviser. In the UK, the Proxy advisers (Shareholders’ Rights) Regulations 2019 (implementing aspects of SRD II) require proxy advisers to disclose methodologies, manage conflicts of interest and report on any code of conduct. In Ireland, SRD II has been implemented with comparable obligations. In legal practice, asset managers and pension trustees may rely on these services but retain ultimate discretion over votes; issuers track reports to anticipate investor concerns. Usage is broadly consistent across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland...