interactive investor wins AIC Shareholder Engagement Award for the third year in a row

interactive investor has been recognised for its initiatives to empower investment company shareholders, winning the AIC Shareholder Engagement Award 2023.

The award from the Association of Investment Companies (AIC) is independently judged by platform consultancy the lang cat against four criteria: facilitating shareholder voting; enabling customers to attend AGMs of investment companies they hold; handling corporate actions on behalf of customers; and providing company documents and data to help customers make informed decisions.

The Shareholder Engagement Award was launched by the AIC in 2021 to recognise the work that platforms do to help investment company shareholders exercise their rights. The award has been won for three years in a row by interactive investor.

The winner

The judges noted that interactive investor (ii) had gone above and beyond previous years’ achievements. In November 2021, it switched customers to an opt-out process for voting and AGM notifications. This summer, the platform introduced voting on its new app. The opt-out process for voting led to a 30% year-on-year increase in the number of votes processed in 2022.

In the judges’ view, the ii app provides customers with easy access to information and notification about investment companies in one place. The judges also commented that ii has continued to put education and communication at the forefront of its offering by investing in “top-quality journalism” and launching a new educational podcast.

Among other platforms, the judges noted that AJ Bell remains committed to shareholder engagement and is “a close competitor to interactive investor” in this area. They added that the platform provides clear and well thought-out notifications to investment company shareholders and an online system that makes it easy to vote.

Annabel Brodie-Smith, Communications Director of the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), said: “Platforms are now the main way that most individual investors in investment companies hold their shares. Since the launch of our Shareholder Engagement Award, there is a heightened awareness about the key role that platforms play in helping investment company shareholders exercise important rights, such as voting and attending AGMs. We’re excited to see several major platforms working on developments in this area, and we’d like to congratulate interactive investor for another year of impressive progress.”

Richard Wilson, CEO of interactive investor, said: “We are proud to be receiving the AIC Shareholder Engagement Award once again. At ii the team is committed to serving our customers and helping to make it easier to engage with their investments. That this is recognised means a lot.

“While mostly business as usual, a missed voting opportunity can leave you in the dark on issues that really matter. The outcome of an investment trust continuation vote, for example, can change the look, shape, feel and value of your portfolio. And not always for the better. 

“We continue to invest heavily in high quality, engaging content and tools to help our customers achieve long-term financial resilience. And for those who wish to make their voices heard, there is strength in numbers. Your vote does count.

“This summer we moved the dial again by introducing voting on our app. And we want to do more. Voting and AGM attendance isn’t just a niche issue for hobbyist investors, and we are pleased to see it getting more attention.”

Steven Nelson, Insight Director at the lang cat, said: “interactive investor has demonstrated consistency and commitment over multiple years when it comes to engagement with shareholders in investment companies. The platform continues to drive real change by enhancing voting capabilities for its customers and it has some impressive numbers which clearly demonstrate the popularity of these initiatives.

“ii's proactive approach continues to set them apart despite close competition from other platforms. This type of high standard is exactly what we want to see from the platform industry and shows that the sector is really getting behind the idea of improving shareholder democracy.”

Judging criteria

The award was open to direct-to-consumer (D2C) investment platforms. The judging focused on four areas:

• Shareholder voting. How well does the platform facilitate shareholder voting?
• AGM participation. How well does the platform facilitate participation in annual general meetings (AGMs) for shareholders of investment companies?
• Corporate actions. How efficiently and effectively does the platform notify shareholders about corporate actions, and enable them to respond where necessary?
• Documents and data. How well do platforms display investment company documents (such as annual reports) and data?

The award will be presented at an AIC dinner tonight.

More information about the Shareholder Engagement Award can be found here.

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Notes to editors

1. The Association of Investment Companies (AIC) represents a broad range of closed-ended investment companies, incorporating investment trusts and other closed-ended investment companies and VCTs. The AIC’s members believe that the industry is best served if it is united and speaks with one voice. The AIC has 347 members and the industry has total assets of approximately £264 billion.
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