Getting started with Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services

Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services manages the distribution of proxy materials and the tabulation of votes for mutual fund shareholder meetings. It tracks each fund, series and share class from record date through distribution, voting, quorum and the final certified tally, and keeps the record of every ballot, revocation and decision. Your fund administration team runs the meeting and your inspector of election certifies the result.

What it is for

Fund shareholder meetings involve many funds, series and share classes, a record date file from the transfer agent, materials sent to registered holders and through intermediaries to beneficial owners, and votes arriving by mail, phone and internet. Teams often track distribution and returns in spreadsheets, reconcile vote files by hand, and calculate quorum and approval separately for each proposal and fund. When a meeting runs short of quorum, it is hard to see quickly where votes are missing, and when results are questioned the evidence is spread across vendor files and email.

• Distribution to registered and beneficial holders is tracked across several vendors
• Votes from mail, phone, internet and intermediaries are combined by hand
• Quorum and approval are calculated separately for each fund, series and proposal
• Revoked and duplicate votes are hard to evidence when a result is challenged

Who uses it

• Fund administrators and fund secretaries who organize shareholder meetings
• Transfer agents who maintain shareholder records for mutual fund clients
• Fund counsel and chief compliance officers who answer for the process
• Inspectors of election who certify the results
• Fund boards and auditors, who need evidence that votes were counted correctly

Before you start

• Your organization licenses Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services from Moraph.
• A Moraph client account in that organization, signed in.
• Access to Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services in Moraph Apps, given by an administrator in the Moraph Portal under People and access.
• For setup: the product administrator role.

Steps to get started

1. Sign in at app.moraph.com with your Moraph account.

2. Open Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services from the launcher. The first time anyone opens it, its workspace is created from the default described in Workspace reference.

3. Check your role: what you can see and do depends on it. See Roles and permissions.

4. Product administrators: work through Set up Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services before your team starts.

5. Everyone else: start with Everyday tasks.

Where to go next

• Set up Proxy Voting & Shareholder Services
• Everyday tasks
• Connect your systems
• Security, data and compliance
• Troubleshooting and the support guide
• Product overview on moraph.com