Shareholder Advocacy
At Azzad, we believe that investing comes with a responsibility—to our clients, to society, and to the principles that guide our work. Shareholder advocacy is one of the key ways we act on that responsibility, using our position as investors to promote greater transparency, accountability, and ethical conduct in the companies we invest in.
How We Advocate
Our shareholder advocacy efforts are designed to ensure that corporate behavior aligns with long-term value creation and the ethical standards our clients expect. This work includes:
- Proxy Voting
We vote proxies on behalf of our clients, with the aim of promoting sound governance and ethical business practices. Our votes are informed by both fiduciary standards and Shariah principles. [insert link to proxy guidelines] - Engagement Through Collaboration
We join with other institutional investors to engage companies directly—often by signing joint letters—to raise concerns about a range of critical issues. These engagements can prompt meaningful dialogue with corporate boards and executives. - Filing or Co-Sponsoring Shareholder Resolutions
When dialogue is not enough, we may file or co-sponsor formal shareholder proposals that press companies to disclose or address practices that raise ethical or material concerns for shareholders.
What We Focus On
Our advocacy efforts center on areas where we believe companies may pose risks to both shareholder value and human dignity. These include:
- Human Rights: We advocate for companies to avoid complicity in human rights abuses, especially in high-risk regions or conflict zones. This includes calling for greater transparency in supply chains and third-party relationships.
- Corporate Conduct in High-Risk Jurisdictions: We monitor and challenge company operations in countries where governments may be engaged in violations of international law or systemic repression.
- Technology Ethics: As artificial intelligence and surveillance tools become more widely used, we press companies to assess and disclose how their technologies are being deployed—and to ensure they are not enabling harm, discrimination, or privacy violations.
- Corporate Accountability: We push for greater transparency around lobbying, political contributions, and internal oversight mechanisms, especially where these activities intersect with ethical concerns.
Why This Matters
Our clients entrust us to manage their assets in a way that reflects both financial prudence and moral clarity. Through shareholder advocacy, we give voice to those values—insisting that companies act not only in pursuit of profit, but in recognition of their broader responsibilities to people and society.
Click here for our recent work on Palestine.
RECENT CORPORATE ENGAGEMENTS
Apple Inc. – Successfully compelled the technology firm to disclose more information around censorship in the Chinese App Store so investors could see which apps had been removed and why
Chevron – Convinced company to exit Myanmar amid ethnic cleansing of Rohingya minority, secured humanitarian donations to relief organizations earmarked for Rohingya in Bangladesh
Alphabet (Google) – Successfully worked to stop implementation of a censored search engine in China. Project Dragonfly. that could target religious and ethnic minorities
Booz Allen Hamilton – Compelled company to publicize human rights policy and to undertake a human rights audit after reporting that the company assisted in war crimes in Yemen
Proxy Voting Guidelines
According to US SIF’s 2020 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 grew from $12.0 trillion at the start of 2018 to $17.1 trillion at the start of 2020, an increase of 42 percent. This represents 33 percent, or one in three dollars, of the $51.4 trillion in total US assets under professional management. Azzad’s ethically screened investments are part of this fast-growing trend.
