According to a study brought up by the Financial Times, private investors seeking to question company strategy at annual general meetings are increasingly being ignored as Annual General Meetings (AGM) have moved online to adapt to the pandemic and confinement measures.
Only 36 per cent of questions posed to companies by shareholders at virtual AGMs in the US in 2020 were addressed at the event or after the fact
What is more, in more than half of AGMs studied, shareholders faced obstacles to asking questions, and in 32 per cent of AGMs, the shareholders were unable to submit questions at all.
This research shows how being virtual, makes it easier to ignore stakeholders´ questions and inquiries that might be uncomfortable or detrimental to the company´s interests. An issue that should be thoroughly considered and discussed, as the digitization of services, including financial ones, shows only to increase in the future.
Original article by Madison Darbyshire (Financial Times).