The world’s biggest manager of other people’s money is surprisingly reluctant to talk about such a high-profile proposal
We know what many big-name fund management houses think of Unilever’s proposal to go Dutch. The UK brigade, including Aviva Investors, Columbia Threadneedle, L&G, M&G, Royal London and Schroders, have been commendably open in saying they will vote against the company’s plan to re-domicile in the Netherlands.
These fund managers have probably spoken up for two reasons. First, they judge that public declarations may help to defeat a proposal they think is rotten. But the second reason is surely more important. Unilever is a long-established FTSE 100 company and its high-profile attempt to move the headquarters to Rotterdam has generated huge interest beyond the City. In those circumstances, fund managers are expected to have an opinion and to defend it. The customers are watching, as L&G’s statement acknowledged. It took “the unusual step” of declaring its vote in advance due to “significant client enquiries about our position”.
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SOURCE: Investment funds | The Guardian – Read entire story here.
