Proxymity, the leading digital investor communication platform, today announced its collaboration with FIS® to launch FIS Proxy Voting by Proxymity.
The digital proxy voting service connects issuers, intermediaries, and investors ensuring that investor communications are delivered in real-time.
Rapidly increasing cost pressures amidst an unpredictable economic environment necessitates a reliable, intuitive solution to investor demand for increased transparency. This solution allows businesses to take better control of investor communication and proxy voting, backed by a subscription-based global technology solution. "This new service with FIS offers excellence in transparency, with communications occurring instantly," said Jonathan Smalley, Co-Founder and COO of Proxymity.
Tapping into the service will allow FIS clients to benefit from an end-to-end digital connection that is expected to improve their shareholders' voting experiences by facilitating instant distribution of meeting announcements.
The new service will also enable FIS clients to establish extended deadlines and provide them with an enhanced confirmation procedure. Proxymity's research has revealed that, upon adoption of its digital proxy voting solution, votes arrive with issuer more than 48 hours earlier and usually show a deadline improvement of up to six days on average, when compared to traditional paper-based processes.
This proxy voting service supports active governance with issuers contributing to the fulfilment of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) goals and Shareholder Rights Directive II (SRD II) regulatory requirements. FIS banking and capital markets clients will benefit from the very best investor relations solutions, saving time and money by sending votes in real-time to issuers or their agents, and receiving verifiable digital proof that their shareholders' votes have been cast.
Capital markets firms without a digital proxy solution could benefit significantly from this solution, with the recent FIS Global Innovation Report showing that 75% of global executives from capital markets firms believe ESG offers an opportunity to improve competitiveness in the market.
Tony Warren, Head of Strategy and Solutions Management for Capital Markets, FIS said, "Efficient corporate governance is key to our business and that of our clients, and we believe that this new service will strengthen this proposition and could reduce costs for several issuers at this critical time. This new solution is another example of how FIS fulfills its mission: Advancing the way the World Pays, Banks and Invests."
Jonathan Smalley, Co-Founder and COO, Proxymity, said: "The benefits of this collaboration between FIS and Proxymity will be felt keenly among businesses eager to eradicate inefficiencies in their current channels. The primary goal must be to ensure investor communications are seamless and swift, which FIS Proxy Voting by Proxymity will guarantee. We look forward to seeing the fruits of this collaboration."