GAM Holding AG shareholders approved all the proposals put forward by the board at its latest annual general meeting, as newly re-elected chair David Jacobs reiterated the recommendation for investors to accept the Liontrust takeover deal.
David Jacobs was re-elected chair of the board of directors and the members who stood for re-election - Katia Coudray, Jacqui Irvine, Monika Machon, Frank Kuhnke and Nancy Mistretta - were confirmed for another term until the 2024 AGM.
The compensation report for 2022 was also approved in a non-binding consultative vote, along with the fixed compensation for the financial year 2023 for the group management board and compensation for the board for the upcoming year term.
Shareholders also approved all the proposed amendments of the Articles of Incorporation, including the provisions pertaining to the shares, the general meeting of shareholders, the duties of the board and the introduction of a capital range.
Only 43% of the total 159,682,531 shares were represented in this vote, compared to 51% in 2022.
In a statement, Jacobs said this year's meeting, the first held in person since 2020, marked an "important moment" in GAM's strategic journey.
"We have spent the past three years transforming the firm to ensure that it has the talent, operating platform and investment capabilities in order to allow GAM to continue to deliver for our clients," he said.
"However, it has become apparent that the market backdrop combined with our resulting financial results has become an obstacle for us to return to growth in a timely fashion. Our choice of a strategic option was informed by the need to address this for the benefit of all our stakeholders."
Investor group challenges Liontrust's valuation of GAM
The chair also used his statement to ask shareholders to accept Liontrust's takeover offer, as well as the proposed transfer of the firm's third-party fund management services business in Luxembourg and Switzerland to another provider.
He said this recommendation was supported by the "strong belief" from the board that these transactions are "in the best interest" of all shareholders.
