Advocacy

Advocacy That Amplifies Your Choices

First Affirmative Doesn’t Stop When Your Money is Invested. We Give Your Values a Voice.
Since our founding in 1988, First Affirmative has walked the talk of socially responsible and sustainable investing. Once we’ve helped you select the thoroughly-analyzed portfolio that matches your clients’ values, we then vote your clients’ shares at corporate meetings and advocate with business and policy leaders for meaningful change. When that’s not enough, we build alliances to push for shareholder resolutions and governance changes that give values-aligned investing real-life power.

Here are some of the ways First Affirmative puts your money to work not just for you, but for your values:

Proxy Voting

We handle proxy voting electronically on behalf of shareowners in accordance with our comprehensive Proxy Voting Guidelines.

Corporate Engagement

We directly engage with companies at the executive level to address ESG concerns. These can include equal opportunity employment, sustainable procurement and sourcing, climate impacts and other social justice issues.

Shareholder Resolutions

When informal engagement with a company is unsuccessful, we gather allies and file formal shareholder resolutions that companies must consider. Often filing a shareholder resolution by itself will cause a company to further engage. Other times, the resolution will escalate and must be voted on by all shareholders at the company’s annual shareowner’s meeting, drawing important publicity that can amplify impact.

Public Policy

We often work as part of larger investor coalitions representing billions of investment dollars, working with policymakers and pushing other levers of power to pursue your values.

Partners in Advocacy

We collaborate with formal and informal investor coalitions to support and magnify our impact, including CERES, Investor Alliance for Human Rights, The CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project), Chemical Footprint Project, and the Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (USSIF).

For more information on shareowner advocacy and our advocacy initiatives, visit the First Affirmative Blog.

With worldwide interest in values investing now deep into the trillions of dollars, new developments in the field come fast and furious. Stay ahead of trends at First Affirmative and investors and corporations around the world with Market Commentary, First Affirmative News and Impact News articles.
First Affirmative Blog

Shareowner Advocacy Resolution Updates

  • 2024

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 02/21/2024

  • 2023

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 09/30/2023

  • 2023

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 03/01/2023

  • 2022

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 06/30/2022

  • 2021

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network for Annual Meetings held in 2021

  • 2021

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 06/31/2021

  • 2021

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 03/31/2021

  • 2020

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of 12/31/2020

  • 2019

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of August 31, 2019

  • 2018

    Shareholder Proposal Update: Filed or Co-Filed by First Affirmative Financial Network as of June 15, 2018