Representatives of mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments have tried to stop two shareholders from voting against the company’s board in a proxy contest over a human rights issue, the shareholders said, according to a Reuters report. Shareholders of nine funds will vote on Friday on a resolution urging Fidelity to bar holdings in companies that “contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.” The measure, which Fidelity’s fund board opposes, is aimed at forcing Fidelity to sell holdings in companies such as PetroChina Co that activists have tied to the Sudanese government, which is criticized for human rights abuses. Only a “negligible” number of shareholders have complained about the voting, said a Fidelity spokesman, adding he was only aware of one other such complaint out of more than three million calls made.
Fidelity in Row Over Proxy Votes
Shareholders of nine funds will vote on Friday on a resolution urging Fidelity to bar holdings in companies that “contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.”
August 14, 2009