Shareholders call for greater transparency on dividend policies

The Investment Association recommends all companies publish dividend policies after its research revealed 22% of FTSE-listed firms fail to seek an annual shareholder vote on distributions.

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Shareholders have called for greater transparency on dividend policies following a review that found one in five companies are failing to stage an annual vote on dividend payouts, or are simply making interim payments.
The Investment Association (IA), a professional body for asset managers, found that 22% of FTSE-listed companies fail to seek an annual shareholder vote on distributions. IA described this as a “notable issue”.
The IA now recommends that all listed companies, including those that do put their dividend to a shareholder vote, should publish their dividend policies. A policy should set out a company’s “long-term appr
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