Shareholder voting and meetings
Important information: This is not personal advice. If you are unsure if an investment or course of action is suitable for your circumstances, please seek advice. Investments can go down, as well as up in value, so you could get back less than you invest.
As a shareholder in a company, you often have the right to vote on decisions made at shareholder meetings.
It’s your opportunity to have your say. Your voice can affect how the company is run, which could impact its future performance.
You can vote on matters like whether a dividend should be paid or the overall strategy of the company. And by attending, you could also get the opportunity to question the board.
Each year companies hold an Annual General Meeting (AGM), but they can also hold Extraordinary General Meetings (EGMs) when necessary. At both types of meeting, ordinary shareholders can vote either in person or by giving an instruction to vote via their stockbroker.
Our online service allows you to electronically provide voting instructions or confirm you’re attending a meeting for UK, EU, US, and Canadian shares in your HL accounts.
How to give an instruction
Log in to your account using our website. It’s not possible to give instructions via the HL app
Select ‘View shareholder meetings’
View your shareholder meetings and provide an instruction
You’ll be taken to a website managed by a third party called Broadridge to complete your instruction. HL is not responsible for the content on this website.
Frequently asked questions
There are two main types of shareholder meeting:
Annual General Meeting (AGM)
Companies have to hold one shareholder meeting a year – called an Annual General Meeting (AGM). This is a chance for the company to present its financial results and update on its strategy to shareholders. Shareholders will have the chance to vote on a number of issues at an AGM, usually including:
Receiving the Annual Report and Accounts
Electing and re-electing the directors of the company
Approving directors' pay
Approving any dividend
Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM)
Any shareholder meeting the company calls other than the AGM is generally referred to as an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM). This is a chance for the company to seek approval on a more urgent issue that can’t wait until the next AGM. Examples of such issues could include:
A significant transaction by the company
A proposed takeover of the company
The voluntary winding up of the company
Removal of a director
Proposed delisting of the company
When giving an instruction, you’ll be given the option to attend a meeting. From here you’ll need to complete a form. You need to provide only the mandatory information plus your email address so you can receive confirmation.
If you have any additional requests like receiving confirmation by post, taking a guest or access requirements, there is a special requests section for this.
The company registrar will then expect your attendance on the day.
You will need to turn up to the meeting with some form of identification, such as a passport or driving licence.
For those who would like to watch meetings online, where possible, please visit our watch a meeting page.
If you’ve recently bought new shares in a UK or EU company, it will usually take 2 to 3 days before you can vote on these.
For US and Canadian shares, you must hold the shares on the ‘record date’ to be eligible to vote. The record date is usually around 6 to 8 weeks before the date of the meeting.
If you sell shares, it will take 3 working days for the meeting to disappear from your list of upcoming meetings.
If you sell your shares after voting, your instruction will be disregarded if the settlement date shown on your contract note is before the deadline of the meeting.
The deadline for each meeting will be displayed above the list of resolutions.
For UK stocks, this is generally 4 working days before the meeting. For EU and US stocks, the deadline could be as much as 10 to 15 working days before the meeting.
You can amend a vote as many times as you’d like before the deadline. You can return to the list of resolutions and amend them as necessary.
To delete or cancel a vote, select the ‘take no action’ option from the advanced voting options above the list of resolutions.
When voting, holdings of the same stock in the following accounts are grouped together:
Stocks and Shares ISA, Junior ISA, Lifetime ISA
Self-Invested Personal Pensions, Drawdown
Fund and Share Account
You may, therefore, find that you have more than one holding of a particular stock to give an instruction for. For example, if you hold the same stock in an ISA, SIPP, and Fund and Share Account, you will have three different holdings and will need to give three separate instructions to ensure that it covers all of your shares.
Yes, you can now vote on most US and Canadian shares in your HL account.
Some US or Canadian shares may be held in the form of American Depository Receipts (ADRs), which are certificates issued by a US bank that represent shares in foreign stock. We are currently unable to record your vote for these shares.