After almost two years of holding hybrid or virtual annual general meetings (AGMs) during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 was finally an opportunity for companies to return to normal. Would they, or would the benefits of holding virtual AGMs prompt a change in practice? In this article, we take a look back at the trends that governed the 2022 AGM season at Euronext Securities Copenhagen and look ahead at what’s in store for 2023.

An even split between physical and virtual in 2022

“If we look at the numbers, we can see that about half of the annual general meetings were either completely virtual or a hybrid meeting,” relates Gitte Krag Møller, Senior Client Manager at Euronext Securities Copenhagen. The largest attendance for a physical annual general meeting was over 1,100 participants; however, according to Gitte Krag Møller, this was the exception rather than the rule. “Generally speaking, the physical general meetings had a lower attendance than they had before the pandemic.”

Global companies see advantages in the virtual format

Among the companies that decided to continue the virtual format are larger companies with a wide range of international investors. “For global companies, virtual general meetings allow them to attract even more investors,” Gitte Krag Møller explains. “Attendees appreciate the flexibility virtual meetings offer, as they can attend from the office, from other countries and across time zones.”

Physical AGMs offer intangible benefits

However, for companies with strong national roots, the physical format offers an opportunity to connect with the local investor base, as Gitte Krag Møller points out. “For some Danish companies, the annual general meeting is an opportunity to hold a community event. They invite thousands of attendees and shareholders travel from all over the country to attend. These events create an enormous amount of goodwill in the community and strengthen the companies’ brand. It’s hard to replicate that experience in a virtual or hybrid format.” 

Virtual and hybrid formats also require a different approach to event planning and management. “To run a virtual meeting, you need to have the right technology in place and the personnel necessary to monitor and manage the chat function. For hybrid meetings, you also need to balance the interaction between in-person and virtual attendees and make sure everyone is heard,” says Gitte Krag Møller. Thus, virtual AGMs can be just as resource-intensive and time-consuming in terms of preparation as physical AGMs. “Going forward, companies will need to consider which format best suits their internal processes and structure.”  

Looking ahead to the 2023 AGM season

Going into next season, Gitte Krag Møller expects the mix of hybrid and physical AGMs to continue. “We have customers who have really embraced the virtual AGM and can see the potential that format has to help them reach even more investors. And then we have customers on the other end of the spectrum, who see the physical AGMs as an important part of their brand and culture. Fortunately, we have an entire suite of AGM tools and solutions that can accommodate physical, virtual and hybrid formats, and create a set-up that caters to each company’s unique needs and investor base,” she concludes. 

Fact box: Euronext Securities Copenhagen’s 2022 AGM season in numbers

• AGMs held: 200+, of which 100+ were either virtual or hybrid
• Highest attendance at a hybrid AGM: 550 
• Highest attendance at a physical AGM: 1,100+
• Proxy instructions processed: 15,000

For the past ten years, Euronext Securities Copenhagen has supported Tryg A/S in offering secure election and voting services to its employees. Thus, when Tryg A/S needed a partner to help it carry out separate but simultaneous elections in Norway and Denmark, it reached out to Euronext Securities Copenhagen for assistance.

According to Anders Rolskov-Eriksen, Legal Counsel at Tryg A/S, the company’s long-standing relationship with Euronext Securities Copenhagen made it the natural choice as the election services provider. “We’ve used Euronext Securities Copenhagen for the past ten years and we have enjoyed a very good relationship, so it made sense that we would use them again,” he comments. “The fact that their voting portal is based on technology that is quality-tested for handling general meetings was another important factor in our decision. That assures us that we will get results that everyone can trust are accurate.”

Two locations, two approaches

Flexibility was another important requirement with this year’s elections, since Tryg A/S needed a solution that could support two independent, but simultaneous elections. “We had to conduct two separate elections in Denmark and Norway at the same time, and each election had to follow its own set of regulations,” Anders Rolskov-Eriksen explains. Euronext Securities Copenhagen adapted the voting portal so it could handle the two elections, each with their own voting nuances and languages. 



To address this challenge, Euronext Securities Copenhagen could draw on its previous experience with Tryg A/S, as Julie Willum Kjærsgaard, Client Manager, points out. “We also supported employee elections for Tryg A/S in 2020, where employees with different nationalities were eligible to vote. We set up voting portals in Danish, Norwegian, Swedish and English to support that election, so we had experience with supporting multiple languages, which benefitted us here.” 

Creating a uniform voting experience

A challenge that was unique to these two elections was the fact that many of the eligible employees were on leave. “One of the most important aspects of the voting portal is providing employees with a secure way of accessing the portal and casting their vote,” Julie Willum Kjærsgaard explains. “The employees who were on leave wouldn’t have access to their work email accounts, so we needed to create a voting flow that worked for them. We focused on how we could create an equal experience for all employees, regardless of whether they had access to their work email.”  



Anders Rolskov-Eriksen highlights Euronext Securities Copenhagen’s responsiveness as a key factor in creating a voting process and experience that met the needs of both employee groups. “They gave us the input we needed and made sure we were prepared for the different process phases well in advance. At the same time, they solved any challenges that arose and addressed questions from our employees quickly, so everyone could cast their vote, without being impacted by any external technical issues.”



Proactive communication also helped ensure the highest voting participation possible. “It’s our job to make sure we create a good voting experience, and that everyone can access the voting portal quickly and easily,” says Julie Willum Kjærsgaard. “We also sent Tryg A/S regular updates so they could see how many votes had been cast up until that point in time and determine whether we needed to send out reminders to employees who were eligible to vote.”  

A process that engenders confidence

When it comes to elections and voting results, it’s important that everyone involved can trust the integrity of the process, something that Anders Rolskov-Erikson says is never in doubt when working with Euronext Securities. “On a very practical level, when you can use a system that is thoroughly tested and with personnel who know the platform well, it gives peace of mind. And even more importantly, it gives you a higher degree of confidence in the election itself. The fact that the election is handled, not by a department run by the same management who counts the votes, but by an external, independent partner who everyone recognises as a trustworthy organisation really instils trust in the process.”



To find out more about Euronext Securities’ voting and election services, please see here.

FACT BOX: ABOUT TRYG’S ELECTION

• Ran from 13 to 23 June 2022
• 3,611 eligible employees, of which 231 were on leave
• Euronext Securities sent emails to active employees; Tryg sent emails to employees on leave via e-Boks (secure digital post box)

When Danica Pension needed to conduct a supplemental employee election with over 900 eligible employees and a one-week voting window, they reached out to Euronext Securities Copenhagen to get election and voting services tailored to their needs.

Danica Pension holds employee elections every four years, and they have partnered with Euronext Securities Copenhagen since 2016. Simon Cardel Langeland, Corporate Governance Specialist at Danica Pension, comments that this long-term relationship and familiarity with Danica Pension’s requirements made Euronext Securities the clear choice for this election. “We’ve worked with them on other elections, and it was important for us that we could have an all-in-one package that worked as smoothly as possible. That’s what Euronext Securities gave us.”

Reaching all eligible employees 

One of the unique challenges with this election was identifying all the employees who were eligible to vote. “Because we’re a subsidiary of Danske Bank, there are always employees working in different parts of the organisation or who are outsourced to departments in other subsidiaries,” Simon Cardel Langeland explains. Danica Pension worked with Euronext Securities to identify those employees who might have been overlooked and include them in the election flow.

A complete election package at a moment’s notice

Another notable aspect was the short timeframe Danica Pension had to get everything up and running. In this regard, Simon Cardel Langeland points out that Euronext Securities’ responsiveness contributed to a smooth process. “From the moment we contacted Euronext Securities, everything worked. We got a quick response with a ready-to-go package even though it was short notice. It was also easy for them to integrate our data in their system.” The fact that Euronext Securities could offer an established set-up that Danica Pension could easily fit into gave the Danica team much-needed peace of mind. “When you’re arranging an election, there are plenty of challenges you need to be aware of in connection with the actual event. If we’d had to handle the technical part ourselves, it would have been possible, but much more difficult and time-consuming. It’s nice not to have to worry about the technical aspects of the process.”

Secure voting process ensures election integrity

The secure election process also helped set employees’ minds at ease. “Everyone was certain that the system worked technically, that data was handled properly and according to GDPR regulations, and that anonymity was preserved,” Simon Cardel Langeland says. According to Julie Willum Kjærsgaard, Client Manager at Euronext Securities Copenhagen, making sure that an election process follows the relevant privacy regulations is an important aspect of the election and voting services Euronext Securities provides. “It sends an important signal to employees when they can log onto an external website using a username and password or other digital ID solution. They can be confident that their personal information isn’t being shared without their consent.”



Simon Cardel Langeland agrees. “When you have an external partner involved, it’s important you can vouch for the integrity of the process, and we’ve always been able to do that with Euronext Securities.”

To find out more about Euronext Securities’ voting and election services, please see here.

FACT BOX: ABOUT DANICA PENSION’S ELECTION

• Ran from 1-8 June 2022
• There were 917 employees who were eligible to vote
• Euronext Securities handled the election communication flow and sent emails to all eligible employees notifying them of their right to vote.

O Client Service Model enquadra-se num dos quatro pilares da estratégia do Grupo Euronext - Growth for Impact 2024 - e tem como objetivo primordial a criação de uma cultura comum no que respeita ao serviço ao cliente, bem como o reforço e melhoria da sua experiência, nos diferentes mercados, quer a nível local, quer a nível internacional.    

A introdução de uma ferramenta comum de gestão da relação com o cliente – CRM - nas quatro CSDs que integram a rede Euronext Securities, foi uma das iniciativas desenvolvidas na prossecução do referido objetivo.  

O CRM facilitará, ao cliente, uma experiência harmonizada e possibilitará a cada CSD não só a monitorização diária das interações, mas também a rápida identificação das áreas a melhorar, criando com o cliente uma relação de proximidade baseada na empatia, confiança e colaboração.  

Em Portugal, o CRM foi implementado em junho de 2022 e, neste âmbito, foi criada uma nova função - a de Gestor de Conta Dedicado – Account Manager. Esta posição permitirá apoiar as necessidades dos clientes e contribuir para uma compreensão mais profunda dos seus negócios e necessidades.  

Com este modelo, a Euronext Securities Porto pretende continuar a reforçar os laços com os seus clientes, antecipar as suas necessidades, melhorar a eficiência nas respostas às questões por eles levantadas e continuar a trabalhar numa parceria contínua, em prol do crescimento do mercado português.