Broadridge and Strate Connect to Streamline the Proxy Voting Lifecycle in South Africa

Strategic collaboration enhances proxy voting efficiency and supports higher levels of corporate governance

NEW YORK and LONDON and JOHANNESBURG, Dec. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- To create a better proxy voting experience and further extend the proxy voting process in South Africa, global Fintech leader, Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE:BR), and Strate, South Africa's principal central securities depository and central collateral platform, have completed the integration of their respective end-to-end vote processing solutions. This collaboration represents a shared strategic commitment to drive greater levels of shareholder engagement by both institutional and retail investors – at both national and international levels.

"We are excited to launch our fully digital South African voting service, supporting the growing desire of investors globally who want to exercise their corporate governance entitlements in this very strategic market," said Demi Derem, General Manager of International Investor Communication Solutions, Broadridge. "Our successful collaboration with Strate represents another critical step in linking leading providers at the heart of financial infrastructure with our network of global investors to enable seamless investor voting and engagement."

Broadridge's extensive user community, including global and domestic banks and brokers, custodians, wealth managers and local agents, can now use the service, delivered in collaboration with Strate and the Central Securities Depository Participants (CSDPs), to streamline processes and achieve operational efficiency throughout the proxy voting lifecycle in South Africa, while also supporting their compliance obligations under South Africa's Companies Act.  Firms using the service can obtain timely and accurate receipt of "golden copy" digital meeting notifications sourced directly from Strate, a significantly extended voting window (up to meeting-date-minus-one) for underlying clients, and enhanced transparency through confirmation of votes submitted.

"As a pioneer in digitisation in South Africa, Strate partners with leading global technology providers to collaborate on digitally innovative solutions, which is why we are proud to have worked with Broadridge on our e-Voting solution," said Gregory Naicker, Strate Head of CSD Services. "Through digital innovation we integrate and connect critical players in the financial market ecosystem, leading to integrity and trust in our markets."

"The partnership with Strate and Broadridge cements Standard Bank's promise of delivering continuous value to our clients, offering flexibility in choosing a proxy voting execution partner,  providing better voting deadlines, delivering enhanced proxy disclosure information as well as moving towards fully digital and automated electronic voting solutions," said Llewelyn Ford, SBSA Head of Investor Services, South Africa. "This development moves the market closer to achieving the desired level of efficiency and lowers risk in the proxy voting environment."

The South African service is the latest addition to Broadridge's rapidly growing Direct Market Solutions (DMS) product suite, which focuses on traditional sub custody voting-related activities. Broadridge continues to commit to expanding its market coverage for digital proxy processing, extended voting windows, and enhanced voting transparency, with more markets to follow in 2023 and 2024. The new South Africa service offering complements Broadridge's leading voting solutions that already provides 100% coverage across 100+ markets globally.

As South Africa's principal central securities depository and central collateral platform, Strate serves the financial market through the safekeeping of the legal, digital record of securities ownership, enabled through registry, settlement and asset services, and through facilitating the reuse of securities as collateral to optimise balance sheets for the benefit of the South African economy.

Recognised locally and internationally as a trusted and neutral financial market infrastructure (FMI), Strate has been a key component of the financial market ecosystem for over 20 years, responsible for delivering services critical to the smooth functioning and stability of the South African financial markets.

As a purpose-led company, Strate is committed to driving a shared-value approach, whereby we partner with our stakeholders – employees, clients, shareholders, regulators, government and business partners – to unlock value and maintain a trusted investment environment. We deliver value creation through our contribution to a thriving, well-regulated and resilient financial market and through our ability to promote market interoperability, increase efficiencies, mitigate systemic risks, optimise the use of capital and enhance market transparency.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE: BR), a global Fintech leader with more than $5 billion in revenues, provides the critical infrastructure that powers investing, corporate governance and communications to enable better financial lives. We deliver technology-driven solutions that drive business transformation for banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and public companies. Broadridge's infrastructure serves as a global communications hub enabling corporate governance by linking thousands of public companies and mutual funds to tens of millions of individual and institutional investors around the world. Our technology and operations platforms underpin the daily trading of more than U.S. $9 trillion of equities, fixed income and other securities globally. A certified Great Place to Work^®, Broadridge is part of the S&P 500^® Index, employing over 14,000 associates in 21 countries.

For more information about us and what we can do for you, please visit www.broadridge.com.

Broadridge Contacts:

Investors:
Edings Thibault
Head of Investor Relations, Broadridge
[email protected]

Media:
Gregg Rosenberg
Corporate Communications
[email protected]

SOURCE Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc.