In a new report, Vanguard examines investor participation and preferences within its Vanguard Investor Choice program, the world’s largest retail proxy voting choice program.
Vanguard Investor Choice, launched in 2023, gives investors a voice on important shareholder matters, such as director elections and executive compensation, at companies held by eligible Vanguard funds. Investors can choose a proxy voting policy that determines how their proportionate share of eligible funds votes. Investor Choice is available across approximately $4 trillion in assets.
The 2026 How Investors Vote Report shows a substantial increase in participation across individual investors and retirement plan sponsors.
“Investor Choice is grounded in the foundational belief that investors have diverse perspectives on corporate governance, and those perspectives deserve to be heard,” John Galloway, global head of investor engagement at Vanguard, said. “More than half a million investors have chosen to participate in Investor Choice this year, demonstrating strong demand and reinforcing the importance of giving index fund investors a voice. As we expand Investor Choice to all U.S. equity index funds in 20275, we look forward to giving even more investors the opportunity to take part.”
Among the key statistics, the report found that:
- Participation accelerated in 2026: The number of participating investors increased more than sixfold, from 82,000 in 2025 to 507,000 in 2026. Participating assets also saw significant year-over-year growth, rising nearly 17x from $9 billion to $151 billion.
- Retirement plan sponsor participation expanded: Nearly 80 retirement plan sponsors now participate in Investor Choice, representing more than one million underlying plan participants.
- Investors continued to express diverse perspectives: Vanguard Mutual fund and ETF investors selected from across the range of available voting policies, with no single voting policy accounting for more than 38 percent of policy selections.
- Voting preferences varied by age: Younger investors were more likely to select the Glass Lewis ESG Policy, while older investors were more likely to choose the Company Board-Aligned Policy. Investors under 30 selected the Glass Lewis ESG Policy at more than twice the rate of investors age 62-80 —38 percent compared with 16 percent.
- Investors signaled demand for future expansion: Investors proactively selected policies for an additional $120 billion in assets tied to funds expected to join Investor Choice in 2027.
Founded in 1975, Vanguard is one of the world’s leading investment management companies.