eToro users, including those who own fractional shares, will now be able to participate in AGMs for stocks listed worldwide by casting a proxy vote on matters like mergers, executive pay, and environmental, social, and governance targets, thanks to the company's partnership with Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc. (NYSE: BR).

More than 145,000 eToro users cast votes in 2023, the year that proxy voting for US equities was first introduced. In 2023, eToro users voted for Apple, Amazon, AMC, and GameStop as their favorite stocks.

Voting interest is rising, according to eToro's Retail Investor Beat, a global study of 10,000 retail investors in 13 countries. AGM voting has been experienced by nearly one in three retail investors (29%) compared to 26% in the June study. Among those who cast ballots, the election or reelection of directors received the most votes (47%), followed by dividends (45%), share buybacks (34%), and executive compensation (30%).

"eToro users embraced proxy voting last year, and we are thrilled to be building this feature to include all stocks on our platform," stated Dan Moczulski, eToro's UK Managing Director. Our users make global investments in businesses.They may now influence major business choices with these companies, giving them a voice.

Retail investors haven't always had the voice they deserve, despite institutional shareholders' long-standing ability to influence boards, CEOs, and the course of enterprises. This is starting to change, though, given the recent increase in retail investment. A crucial component of this procedure is proxy voting, which gives this set of investors significant influence over their function as shareholders. Retail investors are becoming more and more eager to vote, and I'm interested to see where this develops over the coming years.

"We are delighted that the voting on US-only stocks has proved so popular with eToro's users since the launch of their service last year," stated Demi Derem, General Manager of International Corporate Governance, Digital Transformation, and Market Innovation at Broadridge. "We are proud to further develop our partnership to support an expanded capability that includes all stocks, globally."

A new generation of retail investors is emerging, and as their desire to have a say in a company's destiny rises, they have higher expectations for choice, convenience, and simplicity. In order to support eToro's expanded services, we at Broadridge are steadfastly committed to promoting shareholder democracy and more investor engagement. This is demonstrated by our cooperative efforts.

"As we continue to build out eToro's stock offering, proxy voting will be an increasingly important feature for our users, allowing them to exercise their rights as shareholders and have a direct influence on the companies they hold in their portfolio," stated Gili Wolff, Senior Director of Product, Trading & Dealing at eToro. We can't wait to watch how our eToro clients interact with this as we launch it throughout our entire stock world