Our Take: Brave New (Virtual) World Assuming COVID-19 no longer poses a significant health and safety concern in Canada in 2021 and beyond, the number of virtual AGMs held in 2020 is likely to represent the high-water mark for the next several years. Nevertheless, we expect the total number of virtual AGMs in 2021 to dwarf the total in 2019, given many issuers’ newfound experience with the futuristic format and shareholders’ newly minted expectations that virtual attendance should always be an option. Both ISS and Glass Lewis are likely to address the issue of virtual meetings in their respective 2021 guidelines (typically issued late fall), which will largely depend on the global health situation. We expect that hybrid-virtual meetings will be viewed by many as the gold standard since they enable more shareholders to access meetings, while affording those who wish to attend in person the option to do so. Virtual-only meetings, however, will likely continue to be met with opposition out of concern that the format impedes shareholder engagement and communication. Issuers need to be particularly mindful of the risks associated with holding virtual-only meetings at which significant or contentious business will be considered.
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Governance Insights 2020
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