Annual general meetings (AGMs) provide essential opportunities for shareholders to interrogate company decision-making and hold boards to account. The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting social distancing requirements mean that a growing number of electronic or virtual-only AGMs are now being announced.
While virtual-only AGMs are a responsible alternative at a time when far-reaching restrictions aim to slow the spread of the coronavirus, the virtual-only AGM format increases the risk of infringement of shareholder rights. This is a particular concern in relation to the ability of shareholders to ask questions of the board and to engage with the responses to those questions.
The best practices set out below are aimed at ensuring that electronic or virtual-only AGMs comply with the law and enhance, rather than inhibit, shareholder participation. Companies should commit to conducting in-person or hybrid AGMs as soon as it is considered safe to do so.
