Who is responsible for Investment Stewardship at Dimensional?

Dimensional’s global investment stewardship activities are managed by the Investment Stewardship Group, which sits within Dimensional’s Portfolio Management department. The group implements policies, monitors day-to-day operations, and researches governance issues and industry trends. Our Investment Stewardship Committee, comprised of senior management, is responsible for overseeing the Investment Stewardship Group, formulating and recommending changes to policy, and making decisions on governance-related matters.

What is Dimensional’s policy on proxy voting?

Dimensional votes or refrains from voting proxies on behalf of mutual funds as well as those separate account mandates for which clients have given us the authority to vote according to its then current proxy voting policies and procedures. Our voting activities are intended to maximize shareholder value. This involves consideration of the feasibility, costs, and expected benefits of voting for each portfolio. Our proxy voting policies and procedures, summarized in the Annual Information Form (AIF) for the funds, further describe how we vote; answers to some specific questions are provided below.*

Does Dimensional vote proxies at every company meeting?

Dimensional seeks to vote, or refrain from voting, proxies in a manner that we believe is in the best interest of each portfolio. In instances where the costs—including opportunity costs—of voting exceed the expected economic benefits, we may refrain from voting. Additionally, international market restrictions—such as share blocking, re-registration, and onerous power of attorney requirements—may preclude us from voting in certain markets or at certain company meetings.

Does Dimensional utilize any third-party services in the proxy voting process?

Yes. Dimensional has engaged Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) to provide information on shareholder meeting dates, research on proxy proposals, and voting recommendations based on our proxy voting policies and procedures. ISS also provides vote execution through its proprietary voting platform. In addition to ISS, we may also review voting recommendations from Glass Lewis and other research providers for selected meetings. Third-party research is only one of several inputs into our voting decision on a given proposal. We retain final discretion on how to vote.

Does Dimensional disclose its voting intentions or share ownership prior to voting?

Dimensional generally does not disclose our voting intentions or the portfolios’ share ownership prior to voting, except as required by applicable laws and regulation.

Does Dimensional make its proxy voting record publicly available?

Yes. We disclose voting information for our Canadian mutual funds on our public website.

Is Dimensional a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN-PRI)?

Yes. Dimensional became a signatory to the UN-PRI in August 2012.

How may I contact Dimensional’s Investment Stewardship Group?

The group may be contacted via email: corporategovernance@dimensional.com.

*Dimensional Fund Advisors Canada ULC (Dimensional Canada) has delegated the authority to vote proxies for the portfolio securities held by the funds to Dimensional Fund Advisors LP, Dimensional Canada’s U.S. parent company, in accordance with the proxy voting policies and procedures.

Les autorités canadiennes en valeurs mobilières exigent que les fonds d’investissement ouverts publient chaque année sur leur site Web les dossiers de vote par procuration pour l’exercice clos le 30 juin de chaque année. Dans la présente section, vous trouverez les derniers dossiers de vote par procuration pour les fonds Dimensionnels qui détiennent des titres avec droit de vote. Voici ci-dessous les dépôts obligatoires relatifs au vote par procuration des portefeuilles gérés par Dimensional.

Période se terminant le 30 juin 2019

Vous trouverez le sommaire des politiques et procédures en matière de vote par procuration et les directives sur les votes par procuration adoptées par Dimensional Fund Advisors, le sous-conseiller des fonds Dimensional, dans le formulaire annuel de renseignements sur les fonds.

Les registres des votes par procuration contiennent une liste alphabétique des émetteurs dont les titres avec droit de vote étaient détenus par les fonds Dimensional pendant la période en question. Les registres indiquent si les fonds ont voté chaque proposition présentée aux détenteurs de titres de ces émetteurs, ainsi que le résultat du suffrage exprimé.

This report includes details on how Dimensional’s Sustainability Funds voted on environmental proposals during the previous proxy year.

Download the report