The firm also failed to support 18 per cent of the incentive plans of the companies it owns, along with eight per cent of the director elections.
Overall, AMP Capital voted on 1,645 resolutions at 319 company meetings in 2013 – and did not support 12 per cent of them.
The firm voted against seven per cent (116) of the resolutions, abstained 67 times (four per cent) and took no action – ie, was excluded from voting – 19 times (one per cent).
However, the report pointed out that the number of resolutions AMP Capital supports has been increasing steadily over the past five years.
AMP Capital put this down to the fact that it owns fewer companies; that those companies have better corporate governance practices; and that corporate governance has improved generally.
The report reveals that AMP Capital voted against 24 remuneration reports in 2013, including those of Southern Cross Media, iselect and Twenty-First Century Fox.
“Remuneration reports should be concise and facilitate a clear understanding of the company’s remuneration policy, providing evidence that the policy is both fair and reasonable and is aligned with shareholder interests,” said the report.
“AMP Capital voted against remuneration reports that exhibited one or more of the following criteria: poor disclosure; poor alignment with shareholder interests; inclusion of non-executive directors in executive incentive plans; excessive quantum; and poorly structured performance hurdles,” AMP Capital said.
When it came to share and option incentive plans, AMP Capital voted against “at least one” incentive-related resolution at 21 companies. Among these companies were QBE, Fortescue Metals and Webjet.
“As investors, we seek to invest in companies that will provide the best relative share market performance over the long term and, as such, we prefer a significant portion of the CEO’s remuneration to be aligned with that goal,” the report said.
AMP Capital’s “underlying” objections include poor disclosure of the incentive plans; a shorter timeframe than the “ideal” three years; a lack of performance hurdles; and a lack of alignment with the interests of shareholders.
The company also voted against at least one company-endorsed director at 16 companies, including Harvey Norman, Leighton Holdings and Newcrest Mining.
