Shareholders are getting a new way to vote their shares. Broadridge Financial Services made its ProxyVote.com tool available on cell phones and mobile devices in March 2011. The sophisticated graphical user interface is customized to be used with an array of mobile devices including the iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry smartphones, and other units with android operating systems – and will seamlessly integrate with Broadridge’s platform.
According to Broadridge, email delivery of proxy materials is growing exponentially, with almost 78 million deliveries in the year which ended June 30, 2010. As more and more companies move toward notice and access and utilize electronic delivery for proxy materials and annual filings, it is likely that this number will continue to rise.
“People are receiving communications more and more through mobile devices,” explained Joe Vicari, vice president, business strategy and development at Broadridge. “This is all about investor participation. If someone receives an email on a mobile device but then has to go to a personal computer to vote, we are likely to lose them. So this is really all about participation, especially at the retail level.”
Broadridge’s mobile voting platform has been well received. On the first day, there were over 3,300 votes posted. By the end of the May over 100,000 votes had been posted. By the end of the season, there were over 200,000 votes posted and 30% of shareholders voting via mobile devices had previously not voted.
What do you think? Is mobile voting a good idea?