Shareholders at the ING Emerging Countries Fund approved the genocide-free investing proposal by a wide margin in a vote on June 28, 2012. The proposal passed 59.8% to 10.7% with 29.5% abstaining. This decisive win at ING is a first for the genocide-free investing proposal and affirms our earlier research showing that the vast majority of Americans want to avoid investments tied to genocide.
IAG will be following up with ING fund management on how the fund’s Board of Trustees will respond to the clear wishes of the fund shareholders for a policy to avoid investments with ties to genocide.
Significantly, ING did not issue a management recommendation regarding how shareholders should vote on the proposal on its proxy ballot. By remaining neutral, instead of actively opposing the proposal as other financial firms like Fidelity, Vanguard and JPMorgan Chase have done, the opinions of individual shareholders were more accurately represented in the vote tallies and resulted in this clear win for the proposal.
- Victory for Genocide-free Investing at ING, IAG press release, June 29, 2012
- Genocide-Free Investing Resolution Wins Majority Vote, Social Funds, June 30, 2012
- ING Fund Approves Anti-Genocide Plank, Ignites, July 2, 2012
- ING mutual fund vote marks first win for rights activists, Reuters, July 20, 2012
- SEC filing by ING showing final voting tally of 59.8% in favor vs. 10.7% against, (a slight change from the preliminary result of 59.2% vs. 10.8%,) December 27, 2012
