Skip to content

Mutual Fund Proxy Solicitation

Proxy Solicitation Solutions for Mutual Funds and Investment Companies

What We Do

Alliance Advisors provides proxy advisory and retail engagement solutions for open-end mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, business development companies, and alternative investment vehicles.

The firm specializes in complex shareholder meetings, particularly those involving large concentrations of retail shareholders across diverse account types and distribution channels.

Proxy Matters Supported

Alliance Advisors manages mutual fund and investment company proxy solicitations involving a wide range of critical shareholder approvals, including:

  • M&A-related approvals: Votes to approve new investment advisory or sub-advisory agreements following a merger or acquisition involving a fund sponsor or parent company.
  • Fund reorganizations: Transactions involving share class conversions, liquidations, restructurings, and fund name changes.
  • Fund-to-fund mergers: Merger transactions requiring approval under either a majority of outstanding shares standard or a 1940 Act majority standard.
  • Changes to fundamental investment policies: Proposals involving investment objectives, industry concentration policies, diversification status, borrowing authority, or the issuance of senior securities.
  • Fee structure changes: Proposals involving increases in management fees or revisions to distribution and servicing fee arrangements.

Our Approach to Managing Mutual Fund Shareholder Meetings

When a mutual fund family goes out for a shareholder vote, it often involves every fund within the complex.

These large-scale proxy efforts can encompass anywhere from 10 to more than 100 funds, representing millions of retail investors with relatively small positions spread across multiple intermediaries and account types.

With a shareholder base of that size, every communication decision matters. Even a single reminder mailing can cost millions of dollars, which is why disciplined upfront planning is essential to drive an efficient, cost-effective campaign.

Our process

Comprehensive Shareholder Analysis

The process begins with a detailed review of the shareholder landscape to identify where and how shares are held across registered and street-name accounts, NOBO and OBO accounts, insider holdings that may be voted proportionally, multiple share classes, and other intermediary channels.

Strategic Planning

A tailored solicitation strategy is developed at the outset, with each segment of the project mapped in advance. This includes mailing strategy, shareholder segmentation, and targeted engagement plans for retail holders, VIP investors, and financial advisors.

Retail Engagement Execution

Clients remain closely involved throughout the process and have clear visibility into each stage of the campaign. That includes understanding when specific solicitation tactics are activated or paused, why those decisions are made, and the cost implications associated with each move.

This structured and transparent approach helps ensure shareholder meetings are managed with precision, accountability, and measurable efficiency.

Omni-Channel Approach to Retail Engagement

Alliance Advisors uses a coordinated mix of solicitation tools to help move the vote efficiently, reach retail shareholders across communication preferences, and sustain momentum throughout the life of a proxy campaign.

A modern retail engagement strategy cannot rely on a single channel. As response rates decline across traditional methods, an omni-channel approach helps extend reach, improve participation, and support timely vote delivery.

Outbound Telephone Solicitation

Traditional outbound phone solicitation remains an effective tool in the early stages of a campaign, particularly when the objective is to secure a meaningful block of votes quickly.

Read More

While telephone outreach can generate strong early returns, response rates typically decline after the initial weeks, making it most effective when deployed as part of a broader engagement strategy.

Proxy Lite™

Proxy Lite™ is often introduced in the later stages of a solicitation campaign to re-engage shareholders efficiently.

Read More

Using a pre-recorded message, shareholders are prompted to call a toll-free number to vote, and those who answer can be connected to a live operator with a simple key press, reducing friction and improving late-stage response.

Email Campaigns

Email is a fast, cost-efficient way to reach retail shareholders through a branded and secure voting experience.

Read More

It allows shareholders to access voting materials and submit their vote in just a few clicks, making it especially useful for reaching investors who may be less responsive to traditional mail or phone outreach.

Text-to-Vote

Text-to-vote campaigns send shareholders a concise SMS or MMS message that includes a secure embedded link to a voting page.

Read More

This channel offers a simple, mobile-friendly voting experience and is particularly effective for engaging young shareholders who prefer fast digital communication.

QR Code Mailings

QR code mailings can be deployed at strategic points in the solicitation process, particularly when response rates from the initial mailing and follow-up reminders begin to slow.

Read More

By giving shareholders an instant way to access a secure voting page without returning a paper proxy, QR code reminders make participation faster, easier, and more convenient.

Why It Matters

Retail shareholders today are often reluctant to answer calls from unknown numbers, which limits the effectiveness of a phone-only solicitation strategy.

Read More

An omni-channel model allows solicitation efforts to continue when traditional methods begin to underperform, helping campaigns maintain momentum, improve shareholder response, and deliver the required vote on a more timely basis.

Why Choose Alliance Advisors?

Alliance Advisors is the only proxy solicitor that use digital tools to bolster vote returns.  We have been deploying digital solicitation tools for more than a decade, but their role in mutual fund proxy campaigns has changed meaningfully as digital tools have become a central component of many successful solicitation strategies, rather than a peripheral add‑on.

Digital channels can deliver votes at every stage of the solicitation cycle, particularly in later phases when traditional methods have been exhausted and timelines are compressed. They can be implemented relatively quickly, scaled efficiently, and configured in a cost‑conscious way when integrated with data‑driven targeting and clear messaging.

The effective use of these tools is both an art and a science which require a nuanced understanding of shareholder behavior, regulatory obligations, and operational constraints. Alliance Advisors has mastered the use of digital tools and our experiences across numerous corporate and mutual fund solicitations proves that a well‑designed digital program—paired with traditional tactics where appropriate—can help funds meet their voting objectives while managing cost and mitigating execution risk

New York Washington DC • Toronto Vancouver
London  Durban  Taipei Hong Kong Seoul

New York

800 3rd Ave Fl 17
New York
NY 10022

Get in touch

Global Headquarters

The Overlook Corporate Center
150 Clove Road, Suite 400
Little Falls. NJ 07424

Get in touch

Europe Headquarters

Tower 42
25 Old Broad Street
London, EC2N 1HN

Get in touch

APAC Headquarters

23/F One Chinachem Central,
22 Des Voeux Road Central,
Central, Hong Kong

Get in touch

Canada

400 – 22 E 5th Avenue
Vancouver, BC V5T 1G8

Get in touch

Alliance Advisors is an independent advisory firm focused on Shareholder Meeting Advisory, Shareholder Engagement, Compensation, Governance & Sustainability services through our global network.

We go beyond, from development to execution of bold, client-first strategies, resulting in winning outcomes.

Our Services