Empowering Investors to Become More Engaged Shareholders

Chris Nobles sits with Russ Alan Prince from Financial Advisor Magazine to discuss how technology and AI play a critical role in improving shareholder communications.

Chris Nobles is the division executive of Mediant, the investor communications branch of BetaNXT. He first joined Mediant in 2003 as director of software engineering and has over 20 years of experience leading the development and integration of commercial enterprise software.

Russ Alan Prince

How is technology changing shareholder engagement to handle more frequent and complex interactions with investors?

Chris Nobles

Technology is creating stronger connections across the entire ecosystem of issuers, intermediaries and shareholders by fostering a more integrated and collaborative environment for engagement. This transformation is making shareholder interactions more personalized, scalable and accessible.

Technology is not only enhancing transparency in shareholder communications by helping issuers, advisors and brokers analyze sentiment, tailor messaging and respond to shareholder concerns faster—it’s also improving the proxy voting experience. By using AI and automation, firms can simplify complex voting materials, highlight key proposals and provide investors with clear, actionable insights. This makes it easier for shareholders to better understand the companies they invest in and make more informed decisions.

At the same time, digital platforms are giving shareholders more control over how they participate in governance. These tools allow investors to set voting preferences and engage in choice-based models that reduce complexity. Emerging approaches such as pass-through voting and retail voting programs are expanding opportunities for investors to align their votes with their values, reinforcing the trend toward more participatory ownership.

Ultimately, technology allows issuers, advisors and brokers to meet shareholders where they are—across multiple channels and levels of sophistication—while fostering more frequent, transparent and meaningful engagement.

Prince

What do these changes mean for financial advisors helping individual and institutional clients become more informed and engaged shareholders without increasing complexity or risk in the advisory relationship?

Nobles

For financial advisors, this shift means adapting to a client base that is more informed, more vocal and more interested in how their ownership rights are exercised. With more retail investors in the market than ever before, advisors are no longer just financial managers; they need to be educators and facilitators of shareholder participation.

Technology can help advisors support this evolution without adding complexity or risk. Tools that simplify proxy voting, summarize issues and align voting with client preferences allow advisors to offer engagement as a value add, rather than a burden.

Prince

Which regulatory developments related to shareholder engagement and proxy voting should financial advisors monitor most closely to protect clients and stay ahead of changing expectations?

Nobles

Advisors should be closely watching developments that shift voting responsibility and choice back to the end investor. Programs like ExxonMobil’s retail voting initiative and broader “voting choice” models reflect a growing expectation that asset managers, pension managers and others will no longer speak on behalf of clients.

There is also increased scrutiny of proxy advisors, including how recommendations are formed and disclosed, alongside the broader trend of asset managers stepping back from centralized voting positions. These changes place greater emphasis on transparency, documentation and alignment with client intent, raising the bar for advisors to stay informed and proactive in protecting their clients’ interests.

Prince

How do you see AI advancing in 2026 for financial services?

Nobles

AI is being adopted across financial services to reduce time spent on operational and support functions, enabling firms to reallocate that capacity to higher-value client services. In areas such as onboarding, reporting and analysis, AI is used to drive efficiency gains while improving consistency and accuracy.

In the shareholder space specifically, developments such as JPMorgan’s exploration of AI-supported proxy voting highlight how AI can help process complex information, identify patterns and support decisions at scale. Over time, this will enable firms to serve clients more effectively without sacrificing oversight and allow advisors to focus on their relationships and client outcomes.

Russ Alan Prince is a strategist for family offices and the ultra-wealthy. He has co-authored 70 books in the field, including Making Smart Decisions: How Ultra-Wealthy Families Get Superior Wealth Planning Results.

Source: Financial Advisor Magazine