Articles by Keystone-SDA on SWIPRA's AGM Analysis 2026. Read
Key take aways:
- No major AGM upsets, but deeper dissent: Overall approval rates remained stable, yet 97 resolutions would have failed without anchor shareholders—up sharply from 37 in 2025. Of these, 45 concerned board elections and 25 remuneration amounts.
- Criticism is increasingly targeted: Median opposition to board elections remained low at 2.2%, but the most contested 10% of elections averaged 47.1% opposition, focused particularly on board and committee chairs.
- Executive pay is the main flashpoint: Among the 25% most contested companies, votes against remuneration amounts climbed from 40% to 54%. Investors are shifting their attention from disclosure quality to the absolute level of executive pay.
- CEO pay increased at large companies: Median CEO remuneration in the SMI rose 6.1% to CHF 8.2 million, mainly due to an 8.2% increase in long-term incentive awards.
- Auditor independence is emerging as a concern: Opposition to auditor re-election among the most contested companies rose from 22% to 41%; average auditor tenure is 14 years, and more than one-fifth of companies have retained the same auditor for over 20 years.
- Sustainability and voting behaviour are evolving: Around 10% of shareholders opposed sustainability reports, twice the level of two years ago. Meanwhile, split voting and investors’ growing independence from proxy advisers are making AGM outcomes more fragmented and difficult to predict.