Goldman Sachs Wins SEC Approval for Board-Default Voting Option

Bloomberg··US·Read original
2▲2 ▼0Impact / 5
Summary · why it matters

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to give individual shareholders the option of letting the board of directors decide how their votes will be cast, a year after coming closer than ever to having its executive compensation proposal rejected. Regulators gave a green light to the firm's request to let retail investors vote with the board by default, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission letter Monday, and those investors account for roughly 30% of Goldman's shares, according to a person familiar with the matter. The change is likely to increase turnout in a way that boosts support for the company's position on key proposals at annual general meetings, where a third of voting shareholders objected last year to a pair of $80 million retention bonuses for Chief Executive Officer David Solomon and President John Waldron, the most pushback on executive compensation the firm has ever experienced, while investors responsible for about a quarter of its shares didn't turn out to vote on the pay proposal at all. Goldman is following the example of ExxonMobil Holdings Corp., which in September 2025 became the first firm to receive the SEC's green light for such a voting program. If shareholders opt in, the program, run by Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., will mean their votes are automatically registered in line with the board, though those shareholders can still change their votes manually on individual proposals or opt out. Solomon said in a statement that the firm is pleased to provide its individual investors with this free and flexible way to ensure their shares are voted on important matters.

Impact on assets 3

Financials▲ · 1 stocks
Goldman Sachs Group Inc
GS
▲ PositiveRegulationrelevance

SEC approved Goldman's request to let retail investors vote with the board by default, boosting support for its positions at annual meetings.

Cloud & Digital Infrastructure▲ · 1 stocks
Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc
BR
▲ PositiveDemandrelevance

Goldman's board-default voting program will be run by Broadridge, giving it a new client mandate for its voting services.

Energy Transition & Power Demand▲ · 1 stocks
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