Annual General Meetings 2025: The impact of escalation strategies and continued sustainability effort
Zurich, 24th April 2025 - The 2025 Swiss AGM season was overshadowed by geopolitical events which also impacted institutional shareholders’ voting policies and behaviors. AGM votes showed a push for fundamental governance improvements through escalation strategies.
Average voting outcomes remained stable, but shareholders increased scrutiny on persistent governance issues, such as board accountability and compensation practices. Companies are advised to adopt dynamic governance practices, improve transparency on their actions —particularly around pay and board refreshment—and engage meaningfully with shareholders and proxy advisors.
Especially mid-and small sized companies face increased opposition concerning their boards as shareholders are holding directors accountable for their individual roles and responsibilities. This leads to higher reputational risks for boards and their individual key members.
Despite the publicly perceived headwinds for ESG issues, shareholders mostly continue to follow their agendas: Sustainability reports were viewed more critically and a lack of diversity on the board has become the second most important reason for shareholders to vote AGAINST a director election. Companies on the other hand, continue their efforts to advance their sustainability initiatives.
The SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2025 reviewed AGMs and annual reports of the 100 largest companies of the SPI® index (SPI100) that held their AGMs between July 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025. Unless otherwise indicated, the shareholder voting analyses exclude holdings of anchor shareholders such as families, strategic investors or the government with holdings larger than 10%.
Previous years
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2024: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2023: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2022: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2021: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2020: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2019: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2018: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2017: Newsletter
SWIPRA AGM Analysis 2016: Newsletter