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Proxy Voting FAQ
Who at Invesco is responsible for voting proxies of companies held in clients' accounts?
Invesco Advisers, Inc. has a Proxy Committee made up of representatives from Investments, Legal and Compliance departments. The Proxy Committee is responsible for implementing the Invesco Proxy Voting Guidelines ("Guidelines"), which are approved by the Funds Board of Trustees. The Proxy Committee has retained outside experts to assist with the analysis and voting of proxy issues. In addition to the advice offered by these experts, Invesco uses information gathered from our own research, company managements, Invesco's portfolio managers and outside shareholder groups to reach our voting decisions.
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How does Invesco usually vote in proxy issues?
In determining how to vote proxy issues, Invesco considers the probable business consequences of each issue and votes in a manner designed to protect and enhance fund shareholders' and other account holders' interests. Our voting decisions are intended to enhance each company's total shareholder value over Invesco's typical investment horizon.
Proxy voting is an integral part of Invesco's investment process. We believe that the right to vote proxies should be managed with the same care as all other elements of the investment process. The objective of Invesco's proxy voting activity is to promote good governance and advance the economic interests of our clients. At no time will Invesco exercise its voting power to advance its own commercial interests, to pursue a social or political cause that is unrelated to our clients' economic interests, or to favor a particular client or business relationship to the detriment of others.
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When does Invesco abstain from voting?
In certain circumstances, Invesco may refrain from voting where the economic cost of voting a company's proxy exceeds any anticipated benefits of that proxy proposal. For example, Invesco will not vote in countries where the exercise of voting rights requires the fund to submit to short-term trading restrictions, a practice known as "share-blocking." Invesco generally refrains from voting proxies in share-blocking countries unless the portfolio manager determines that the benefit to fund shareholders and other account holders of voting a specific proxy outweighs the fund's or other accounts temporary inability to sell the security.
Invesco also abstains on shareholder proposals deemed to be of a purely social, political or moral nature. The potential costs and economic benefits of shareholder proposals seeking to amend a company's practices for social reasons are difficult to assess. Analyzing the costs and economic benefits of these proposals is highly subjective and does not fit readily within our framework of voting to create greater shareholder wealth over Invesco's typical investment horizon.
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How are proxies voted when a fund is managed by a sub-advisor?
Invesco funds not managed by Invesco Advisers, Inc., are governed by the proxy voting policies of their respective sub-advisors.
Proxy Voting Guidelines applicable to Invesco China Fund, Invesco Core Bond Fund, Invesco Endeavor Fund, Invesco Floating Rate Fund, Invesco Global Core Equity Fund, Invesco Global Equity Fund, Invesco Global Fund1, Invesco Global Real Estate Fund, Invesco Global Real Estate Income Fund, Invesco High Income Municipal Fund, Invesco High Yield Fund, Invesco Income Fund, Invesco International Core Equity Fund, Invesco International Total Return Fund, Invesco Japan Fund, Invesco LIBOR Alpha Fund, Invesco Limited Maturity Treasury Fund, Invesco Money Market Fund, Invesco Municipal Bond Fund, Invesco Real Estate Fund, Invesco Select Equity Fund, Invesco Short Term Bond Fund, Invesco Small Companies Fund, Invesco Structured Core Fund, Invesco Structured Growth Fund, Invesco Structured Value Fund, Invesco Tax–Exempt Cash Fund, Invesco Tax–Free Intermediate Fund, Invesco U.S. Government Fund, Invesco V.I. Diversified Income Fund, Invesco V.I. Global Multi-Asset Fund2, Invesco V.I. Global Real Estate Fund, Invesco V.I. Government Securities Fund, Invesco V.I. High Yield Securities Fund3, Invesco V.I. Money Market Fund, Government & Agency Portfolio, Government TaxAdvantage Portfolio, Liquid Assets Portfolio, Premier Portfolio, Premier Tax–Exempt Portfolio, STIC Prime Portfolio Tax-Free Cash Reserve Portfolio and Treasury Portfolio
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How can I find out how proxies were voted for companies owned by my fund?
Information regarding how your fund voted proxies related to its portfolio securities is available by accessing Proxy Voting Activity. Select your fund from the drop-down menu.
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What if I disagree with the way a proxy was voted?
We believe that proxy voting is an integral part of the overall investment process. Accordingly, Invesco has delegated responsibility for the voting of portfolio company proxies to the advisor or sub-advisor of each Invesco fund, the manager that makes the investment decisions for that fund. We take very seriously our responsibility to ensure that the funds' voting rights are exercised in a manner consistent with our goal of enhancing long-term shareholder value.
Management teams of companies are accountable to their boards of directors, and directors of publicly held companies are accountable to their shareholders. Invesco endeavors to vote the proxies of its portfolio companies in a manner that will reinforce the notion of a board's accountability to its shareholders.
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How does Invesco handle potential conflicts of interest in proxy voting?
A potential conflict of interest arises when Invesco votes a proxy for an issuer with which it also maintains a material business relationship. Examples could include issuers that are distributors of Invesco's products, or issuers that employ Invesco to manage portions of their retirement plans or treasury accounts. Invesco reviews each proxy proposal to assess the extent, if any, to which there may be a material conflict between the interests of the fund shareholders or other account holders and Invesco.
Because the Guidelines are pre-determined and crafted to be in the best economic interest of shareholders and other account holders, applying the Guidelines to vote client proxies should, in most instances, adequately resolve any potential conflict of interest. As an additional safeguard against potential conflicts, persons from Invesco's marketing, distribution and other customer-facing functions are precluded from becoming members of the Proxy Committee.
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