BlackRock And State Street Proxy Voting Guidelines Update

Key Points:

• Large asset managers like BlackRock and State Street have recently published updates to their proxy voting guidelines primarily focusing on diversity and inclusion and climate risk disclosures.
• BlackRock's key changes include updating its voting behavior to address board quality and composition issues, emphasizing its commitment to net zero emissions and climate risk disclosures, alongside other changes related to human capital management, key stakeholder interests and executive compensation.
• State Street's updates include new voting guidelines to address racial and ethnic diversity, aligning its stewardship with the goals of Climate Action 100+ and encouraging companies to improve their  R-Factor scores.