What is a proxy vote?
By purchasing shares of a company, an individual or institution such as a Putnam mutual fund becomes a shareholder of that company. For example, the New York Stock Exchange requires that companies listed on its exchange hold an annual meeting. Shareholders are invited to attend the meeting in person or by proxy to vote on issues brought before the meeting by the company or by other shareholders. Since attending the meeting is very likely inconvenient, most shareholders send in their proxies indicating how they would like to vote. Examples of issues that might be included in a proxy ballot are election of the Board of Directors, executive compensation packages, and approval of mergers or acquisitions. Why is proxy voting of interest to shareholders? Since the Putnam funds purchase large blocks of shares in companies, proxy votes from Putnam funds and other mutual fund companies carry substantial weight. Putnam’s investment professionals seek to invest in companies that have strong corpo
Electors can choose to appoint somebody else to vote on their behalf. This person is known as a proxy. If you would like to do this, you should choose somebody that you know or trust sufficiently to exercise your vote on your behalf. A person can only be appointed as a proxy for a maximum of two non-family members, though there is no limit on the number of relatives he or she can be proxy for. The proxy must be able to vote at the kind of elections at which you are voting by proxy.
