Include shareholder voting legislation in King’s Speech
AIC urges government to press on with promised voting reform.
The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) has written open letters to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, and to the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Peter Kyle, urging the government to include legislation on retail voting in the next King’s Speech.
In July 2025, the government committed to reforming company law to ensure that shareholders on platforms are automatically ‘opted in’ to receive information about the companies they hold, including information about upcoming votes. The government also accepted in full the recommendations of the Digitisation Taskforce, including the ‘Bill of Shareholder Rights’.
Richard Stone, Chief Executive of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “We are urging the government to ensure the voices of private investors are heard by including legislation on voting in the next King’s Speech. Recent events at Edinburgh Worldwide and Herald Investment Trust demonstrate the importance of shareholder democracy. It’s vital that private investors on platforms are informed about the options for the future of their company and are able to vote without hindrance.
“Moving quickly on this legislation is crucial. Our experience in the investment trust sector is that activists are often attracted to companies with high levels of retail investors. AIC data has demonstrated that investment trusts with more private investors have lower voting turnouts than those with higher institutional ownership.”
Platform voting deadlines for Edinburgh Worldwide Investment Trust
AJ Bell | Fidelity | Hargreaves Lansdown voting deadline | interactive investor voting deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
15/01/2026 | 14/01/2026 | 14/01/2026 | 15/01/2026 |
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- The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of investment trusts and VCTs, collectively known as investment companies. The AIC’s vision is for closed-ended investment companies to be understood and considered by every investor. The AIC has 278 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £266 billion.
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