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Welcome to the new RBC iShares digital experience.

Find all things ETFs here: investment strategies, products, insights and more.

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Shareholders of a company have the right to vote on certain aspects of the company's business, such as the election of the company's directors and the appointment of auditors. A proxy is the document that companies send to shareholders to get their voting instructions.

Equity mutual funds and exchange traded funds with an equity component hold shares of companies and are entitled to exercise the voting rights attached to those shares.

RBC Global Asset Management Inc. exercises the voting rights attached to securities held by RBC Funds, PH&N Funds, RBC Private Pools, RBC Alternative Funds, RBC ETFs (“Funds”)1, and segregated client accounts where we have been granted voting discretion.2
We believe that issuers with good governance practices generally are able to focus on long-term sustainable growth, and are more likely to effectively manage conflicts and material environmental and social risk factors. These issuers are also more likely to access fixed income markets when needed, and pose less risk for equity investors due to proper alignment of shareholder and management interests. As such, we believe that communicating with an issuer’s management or board through the exercise of voting rights is an effective way of addressing issues that are material to our investments and can help protect and enhance the long term value of the portfolios we manage. We make our voting decisions independently and in accordance with our custom Proxy Voting Guidelines.
We have established the RBC GAM Proxy Voting Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) to govern the exercise of our voting rights. We review and update our Guidelines on an ongoing basis as our view of corporate governance best practices evolve and with the view to enhance the long-term value of our portfolios. Our Guidelines are published for the information of our clients and to assist issuers in understanding the message we have sent or intend to send through the exercise of proxy voting rights. The Guidelines are applied for issuers in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. In all other markets, RBC GAM utilizes the local benchmark voting policy of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc.(ISS).

The RBC GAM Proxy Voting Guidelines (“Guidelines”) summarize the corporate governance principles which we will generally support through the exercise of votes on these issues.

Proposals, including those on business issues specific to the issuer or those raised by shareholders of the issuer, are addressed on a case-by-case basis with a focus on the potential impact of the vote on shareholder value.

The Guidelines are applied in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. In all other markets, RBC GAM utilizes the local proxy voting guidelines of Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (“ISS”).

For more information, please refer to the Guidelines.

The exercise of voting rights requires the ongoing review of the corporate governance and performance of management of an issuer, and the consideration of the potential impact of a vote on the value of the securities of the issuer held in our portfolios. In order to execute our fiduciary duty, RBC GAM accesses and utilizes research on management performance and corporate governance issues, drawn from portfolio manager and analyst due diligence, information provided by leading independent research firms and involvement in organizations such as the Canadian Coalition for Good Governance.

As part of the governance regime for our Funds, the Independent Review Committee oversees conflict of interest matters for the funds managed by RBC Global Asset Management Inc., including the RBC Funds, Phillips, Hager & North Funds, and RBC ETFs. This includes the review of the Funds' voting for Royal Bank of Canada shares. RBC GAM is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada.

A decision to invest in an issuer is based in part on a portfolio manager's analysis of the performance of management and the corporate governance of the issuer. Since a decision to invest is generally an endorsement of management of the issuer, RBC GAM will generally vote with management on routine matters. However, since a portfolio manager must be focused on shareholder value on an ongoing basis, it is the responsibility of the portfolio manager to be aware of the potential investment implications of any issue on which security-holders are asked to vote.

RBC GAM has retained ISS, an independent firm with expertise in global proxy voting and corporate governance issues. RBC GAM has established the Guidelines which apply to the funds managed by RBC GAM, and segregated client accounts where we have been granted voting discretion. The Guidelines indicate the principles of corporate governance that we will generally support through the exercise of proxy votes.

While RBC GAM will generally vote proxies strictly in accordance with the Guidelines, there may be circumstances where it believes it is in the best interests of a fund or account to vote differently than the manner contemplated by the Guidelines. The ultimate decision as to the manner in which proxies will be voted rests with RBC GAM.

RBC GAM is a subsidiary of Royal Bank of Canada. Some of our Funds hold common shares of the Royal Bank. There is the potential for a conflict of interest between the interests of the Funds and the interests of RBC Global Asset Management Inc. or its employees in connection with the exercise of voting rights of the Funds attached to the Royal Bank shares. There is also the potential for a conflict of interest in connection with the exercise of the Funds' voting rights attached to the shares of another issuer, where the outcome of the vote may directly impact the price of Royal Bank shares.

In order to balance the interests of the Funds in exercising proxies with the desire to avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, RBC Global Asset Management Inc. has instituted procedures to help ensure that a Fund's proxy is voted:

  • in accordance with the business judgment of the portfolio manager, uninfluenced by considerations other than the best interests of the Fund;
  • free from any influence by the Royal Bank of Canada and without taking into account any consideration relevant to Royal Bank or any of its associates or affiliates.

The procedures for voting Royal Bank proxies, and for other issuers' proxies where there may be a conflict of interest, include escalation of the issue to the Independent Review Committee for its review and recommendation, although the responsibility for deciding how to vote the Funds' proxies and for exercising the vote remains with RBC Global Asset Management Inc.

Due to the volume and diversity of securities held by RBC GAM funds and accounts, we have retained ISS to provide administrative services as a proxy voting agent. In addition, ISS provides custom voting recommendations for proxies based on the Guidelines. RBC GAM subscribes to the research of both ISS and Glass, Lewis & Co. The research and benchmark policy voting recommendations from both proxy advisors may be considered as part of the proxy voting decision. However, the final voting decision is independent and voting authority rests solely with RBC GAM.

RBC GAM has adopted proxy voting procedures to ensure that proxies are in fact voted by ISS in accordance with the Guidelines.

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Proxy voting resources

1. We refer to all of the RBC Funds, PH&N Funds, RBC Private Pools, RBC Alternative Funds, and RBC ETFs as the “Funds”. For more information, please review the prospectus.

2. In the case of certain sub advised funds, RBC GAM has delegated the investment management responsibility and the related obligation to exercise a fund’s voting rights to the sub advisor of the fund. RBC GAM’s affiliated sub advisors have adopted the Proxy Voting Guidelines. For information, please review the prospectus.

This webpage and embedded links include information related to RBC GAM’s approach to responsible investment, which does not apply to certain funds, investment strategies, asset classes, exposure or security types that do not integrate ESG factors. Examples of what would not integrate ESG factors include, but are not limited to, money market, buy and maintain, passive, and certain third-party sub-advised funds/strategies or certain currency or derivative instruments. ESG factors are considered by our investment teams to varying degrees and weights, depending on the investment team’s assessment of that ESG factor’s potential impact on the risk-adjusted, long-term performance of the security and/or the fund. For funds where ESG factors do not form a part of their investment objective, ESG factors are generally not likely to drive investment decisions on their own, and in some cases, may not impact an investment decision at all. RBC GAM has a general approach to active stewardship, proxy voting, and engagement that addresses ESG matters among other matters. References to active stewardship do not apply to certain investment strategies where proxy voting and/or engagement are not used. Examples of what would not conduct certain active stewardship activities include, but are not limited to, quantitative investment strategies that do not conduct engagements, passive, and certain third-party sub-advised strategies. RBC GAM does not manage proxy voting for certain third-party sub-advised strategies. For clarity, RBC Indigo Asset Management Inc. and its fund products are not covered by the information presented on this webpage, unless otherwise indicated.

Disclosure

Please consult your advisor and read the prospectus or Fund Facts document before investing. There may be commissions, trailing commissions, management fees and expenses associated with mutual fund investments. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. RBC Funds, BlueBay Funds and PH&N Funds are offered by RBC Global Asset Management Inc. and distributed through authorized dealers.


RBC Global Asset Management (RBC GAM) is the asset management division of Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) which includes RBC Global Asset Management Inc. (RBC GAM Inc.), RBC Global Asset Management (U.S.) Inc., RBC Global Asset Management (UK) Limited, and RBC Global Asset Management (Asia) Limited, which are separate, but affiliated subsidiaries of RBC.


For clarity, RBC Indigo Asset Management Inc. is not covered by the information presented on this webpage.