Introduction
We are excited to share with you Strive’s inaugural 2023 proxy season review. This report covers how Strive Asset Management voted on behalf of our clients during this past shareholder season, which includes all votes from July 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023, across all of our funds.
Strive’s corporate governance team serves as the conduit between our clients and the businesses in which they invest. As such, we want to provide clarity to our clients as to why we vote in the manner we do.
Our philosophy is simple: We vote in the way that we believe will maximize long-run financial value for our clients. To do so, we evaluate each and every ballot we cast through an apolitical, fiduciary lens. If the proposal appears likely to increase long-run financial value, we vote in favor of it; if it does not, we oppose it.
The fact that this is considered a contrarian view in 2023 shows just how far the capital markets have strayed from the promise of American capitalism. At a time when many asset managers have drifted (or at times ran) towards the European model of stakeholder capitalism—in which a company exists not to serve its shareholders, but society as a whole—Strive stands firm in its conviction that shareholders come first. We hope that our governance philosophy can play a part in fixing this fiduciary gap.
To that end, this report highlights the efforts we have made over the past year to set companies back on track to deliver for their shareholders, the millions of Americans who have invested their savings in the stock market to save for retirement, a downpayment, or their children’s education.
To our clients, we thank you for joining us on this mission and for trusting us to vote your shares. We look forward to an even brighter 2024.
