How do retirement plans handle mutual funds’ proxies?

[Peter Gulia]

Mutual funds’ proxy-voting solicitations are much fewer than they were in the 1980s and 1990s.  Yet it’s still not none.

 

A trust company’s typical directed-trustee agreement provides that the trustee votes the trust’s securities only as the plan’s administrator directs.  That leaves the administrator (usually, the employer) with an unwelcome duty.

 

An individual-account plan could require participants (and others with accounts) to direct the fiduciaries’ voting.  But often this is practical only if the plan’s administrator has engaged a recordkeeper or other service provider to deliver the fund’s proxy-voting solicitation and collect the participants’ (and beneficiaries’ and alternate payees’) directions.

 

BenefitsLink mavens, will you share your experiences about which recordkeepers offer or disclaim such a service?

[Peter Gulia]

Retirement plans’ and investment issuers’ service providers seem to have ways to pass through to participants voting of employer securities, but seem not to offer those or similar services for voting mutual funds’ shares.

 

Or are my observations too limited?