Proxy Voting

The Board has determined that the Fund will exercise its right to cast proxy votes on all Australian companies in which it invests. The Board believes that voting not only protects shareholder interest, but sends a strong message to the management of companies in which the Fund invests.

The process is delegated to VFMC, who will actively consider and vote on every resolution that is put to vote, taking advice from Corporate Governance International (CGI) and ISS Proxy (and where necessary, the Fund's Investment Managers).

Whilst all issues are voted on, the following activities are particularly scrutinised: 

• Potentially adverse changes to Capital Structure
• Voting Rights (any changes that restrict shareholder control over the Board and major capital changes) 
• Executive Remuneration (aligning executive and shareholder interests, performance based remuneration with appropriate hurdles) 
• Appointment of Directors (in particular experience and independence of candidates, and overall Board structure) 
• Corporate Conflicts of Interest (all dealings should be on a commercial basis).