Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is adding an opt-in feature that lets individual shareholders have their votes automatically align with the board's position. Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. will administer the program. Shareholders who enroll can still switch their votes on any specific item at annual meetings or opt out entirely.
As CEO David Solomon put it, "We are pleased to provide our individual investors with this free and flexible way to ensure their shares are voted on important matters."
Regulators cleared the plan in an SEC letter on Monday. The timing follows last year's compensation showdown, in which A third of voting shareholders objected to two $80 million retention bonuses for Solomon and President John Waldron - marking the largest backlash Goldman has experienced on pay. At the same time, investors representing about a quarter of the company's shares did not vote on the pay item at all.
A person familiar with the matter said retail investors account for about 30% of Goldman's shares.
Every investor benefits from clear choices that protect and help their savings grow. Join Briefs Finance CEO Jaspreet Singh on September 29th for a FREE live investor workshop, How to Profit From A Dollar That's Losing its Value, where he shows how we're spotting investment opportunities as the dollar falls. Save your spot.
Goldman is taking a cue from ExxonMobil Holdings Corp., the first company to receive the SEC's approval for this type of default voting program in September 2025. Exxon had faced years of activist pressure, and after years of pressure from activists, Exxon lost a pivotal fight in 2021, which resulted in three out of its 12 directors being replaced. Results indicate the program helped lift shareholder participation at Exxon's meeting this year.
Not everyone is on board. In December, then-SEC Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw pointed to the policy as evidence of a move toward looser corporate-governance rules, which she said "lopsidedly" benefits company management at the expense of accountability.
More shareholders voting, especially by default with the board, typically tilts outcomes toward management on hot-button items like executive pay. For individual investors, this is set it and forget it convenience, with the safety valve to jump in on any proposal or exit the program entirely.
Keeping a steady plan lets your money work harder while you stay confident. Our CEO Jaspreet Singh is hosting a FREE live investor workshop, How to Profit From A Dollar That's Losing its Value, on September 29th. Sign up free to join him live.
