Mizuho Investor Relations will strengthen advisory services for clients concerned about shareholders’ voting behavior, amid an increase in proposals from activist investors, President Eiichi Yamazaki said in a recent interview.
The company can “forecast shareholder votes well and give advice,” Yamazaki said.
While companies receive more shareholder proposals than before, a decline in the number of stable shareholders due to the unwinding of cross-shareholdings has made it more challenging to predict how shareholders will vote on them.
Yamazaki said that Mizuho Investor Relations will leverage its extensive data on institutional investors’ voting guidelines and past behavior.
The company will “analyze each proposal based on shareholder composition and develop action plans, including shareholder returns,” in collaboration with its parent company, Mizuho Securities, he said.
He also said Mizuho Investor Relations will reinforce the business of enabling companies and investors to have two-way dialogue.
The company has established a web studio for its client firms to use for briefings to investors. It will also promote interactions between companies and individual investors via influencers who share financial information.
Mizuho Investor Relations, previously called Japan Investor Relations and Investor Support, plans to increase staff in its investor relations business by 1.5 times in the near future and double its sales within five years, Yamazaki said.
