Sanlam urged to catch up
• Shareholder activist Theo Botha says the insurance company is behind other big players on voting disclosure
Sanlam chairman Johan van Zyl told shareholders at the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday that it would “definitely look at” bringing its disclosure on voting in line with the other major players in the insurance industry.
Sanlam chairman Johan van Zyl told shareholders at the group’s annual general meeting on Wednesday that it would “definitely look at” bringing its disclosure on voting in line with the other major players in the insurance industry.
However, he disputed shareholder activist Theo Botha’s charge that the group “was being left behind” on this critical governance issue.
Botha asked Van Zyl why Sanlam was the only large institutional investor that did not disclose its voting record in line with the recommendations of the Code for Responsible Investing in SA.
“Could you please explain to me why Sanlam Investments, which is one of the biggest asset managers in SA, doesn’t make its voting public like the other major players — Allan Gray, PIC, Old Mutual, Investec and Coronation — do?”
As a signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investing, Sanlam is expected to adhere to the code, which recommends “public disclosure of full voting records”.
Sanlam Investment Managers CEO Robert Roux said it did report on how it voted at shareholder meetings. This report is available on the website, he said.
Botha pointed out that the report only contained an overall description and did not give details on how it voted at individual companies. “You don’t make your full voting record public,” said Botha.
Roux responded by asking: “Does it mean informing the whole world? We’ve decided to be transparent to the right people, who are our clients and on whose behalf we manage investments.” He told Botha that transparency “is not something we can’t discuss”.
Van Zyl added that the board would definitely look at it.
In response to Botha’s charge that Sanlam CEO Ian Kirk should not, in terms of the King IV code, chair the Santam remuneration committee, Van Zyl agreed to inform the Santam board that it was contravening the code.
Botha said that, as CEO of Sanlam, which holds 59% of Santam, Kirk could not be described as independent.
Botha was told the decision had been taken by the Santam board, which regarded Kirk as “independent enough”.
The shareholders overwhelmingly approved all of the resolutions, except for the reappointment of EY as auditors, which received 74.7% backing, and the remuneration implementation report, which was backed by 71.51% of investors.
The share price closed 6.25% weaker at R75.50 on Wednesday on the back of a trading update that described the challenging operating conditions during the first four months of financial 2018. “Economic growth in many markets remain below longer-term potential, in particular in our large South African and Namibian markets, where only modest growth is expected for 2018,” Sanlam said.