Stewart Investors, an asset manager focused on emerging markets equity, reaffirmed its policy of voting in favor of appraisal rights in its most recent proxy guidelines. Keeping it simple, Stewart wrote it would “Vote for proposals to restore, or provide shareholders with, rights of appraisal.”
This is consistent with its prior proxy guidance, which we covered here.
For US readers, the idea of voting in favor of appraisal rights may not entirely track – appraisal rights are (generally) set by state law. But this ignores two salient details. First, even in the US, appraisal rights are sometimes a matter of shareholder vote – especially in LLC or alternative corporate firm scenarios. Second, appraisal rights, especially in non-US jurisdictions, can be a creature of contract and shareholder proposal.
The near unanimity of investors in voting in favor of appraisal rights speaks to the reality that appraisal rights are pro-investor.