According to US SIF’s 2022 Trends Report, sustainable investing in the United States continues to expand at a healthy pace. The total US-domiciled assets under management using sustainable investing strategies at the end of 2021 was $8.4 trillion. This represents 13 percent, or one in eight dollars, of the total US assets under professional management. Shareholder advocacy is an important part of sustainable investing.

Shareholder advocacy refers to actions taken by shareholders to ask the companies whose stock they own to take an action or change behavior for the public good. One common way to do this is to propose shareholder resolutions to the company’s management to be brought to a vote at the company’s next annual general meeting.

Azzad engages in shareholder advocacy on behalf of our clients by voting proxies and by filing resolutions and sending investor letters. 

Shareholder resolutions may appear along with the company’s proposed changes on its proxy ballot, which all shareholders have a right to vote on. Asset management firms vote proxies on behalf of their clients. If you’re concerned about ethical issues with investing, it’s a good idea to find out how your money manager votes for your share.

You can find Azzad’s proxy voting guidelines here.