Shareholder Proposals Have Lost Some of Their Relevance and Effectiveness

Bruno de Roulhac of L’Agefi referenced SquareWell’s latest research in an article titled “Shareholder resolutions have lost their relevance and effectiveness.” The article draws on findings from SquareWell Partners’ second edition of its study “What Do Shareholders Propose,” which examines environmental and social shareholder proposals in the United States and Europe.

According to SquareWell’s analysis, the number of ESG-related shareholder proposals declined significantly in 2025, reflecting a more challenging environment for proposal filers. In the S&P 500, the number of proposals dropped by 39 percent to 199 during the first half of 2025. At the same time, average shareholder support fell to 9.5 percent, down from 14.8 percent in the first half of 2024. A similar trend was observed in Europe, where proposals in the Stoxx Europe 600 declined by 20 percent to just 16, with average support decreasing from 11.3 percent to 5.3 percent.

As noted in the article, these developments follow changes to the policy of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in February 2025, which made it easier for companies to exclude shareholder proposals focused exclusively on ESG issues if they are not deemed materially relevant to the business. SquareWell Partner Louis Barbier commented that the decline also reflects broader pressures surrounding ESG topics: “We expect a significant drop in external shareholder proposals at the start of the year due to various pressures surrounding ESG.” He also noted that improved corporate practices at many US companies have contributed to the reduced number of proposals, although shareholder resolutions continue to appear at major companies.

The study also highlights the evolving voting behaviour of large asset managers and proxy advisers. According to SquareWell’s research, the three largest global asset managers – BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard – collectively hold around 25 percent of the S&P 500 and 10–12 percent of the Stoxx Europe 600. Their voting patterns, influenced by political and legal pressures in the United States, have contributed to declining support for ESG-related proposals. SquareWell’s findings further show that the ten largest institutional investors display significant regional differences in their voting behaviour. European asset managers supported an average of 48 percent of sustainability-related shareholder proposals, compared with just 2 percent among US-based managers.

The article also notes the changing approach of proxy advisers. Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) supported 39 percent of sustainability-related shareholder proposals in 2024 but only 7 percent in 2025, and it did not recommend support for any environmental proposals last year. Glass Lewis reduced its support more moderately, from 26 percent to 21 percent.

You can read the full article on L’Agefi here.