Overview
Understanding the priorities and concerns of mutual fund investors is critical to the outcome of shareholder meetings. For more than 40 years, we have served as a strategic partner to mutual funds and assisted them in the management of critical proxy campaigns. AST Fund Solutions offers an innovative suite of specialized advisory services and the customized solutions to meet each client’s unique needs.
AST recently introduced ProxyIQ™, a faster, more efficient proxy campaign platform. Leveraging blockchain-based technology, ProxyIQ gives your proxy voting greater speed and transparency. It delivers clearly defined processes, certainty of execution, insight-rich data and unassailable results. This versatile new platform can support any size voting activity, even against the most challenging deadlines. Learn more.
Capabilities
Activist Advisory & Analytics Services
When your closed-end fund becomes vulnerable to activist fund initiatives, it’s critical to understand the challenges ahead, and to have a strategy in place to ensure your message is heard by all of your shareholders. AST Fund Solutions helps you track current activist trends, maintain relationships with activist investors, and counter threatening initiatives with a customized strategy.
Annual & Special Meeting Services
Our services help support mutual funds in all areas of the shareholder meeting process. We assist with all aspects of the event, from planning, printing, mailing, tabulation, solicitation, reporting and vote certification.
Proxy Solicitation Services
Mutual fund proxy campaigns require a high level of sophistication and analytics, particularly in working to identify and motivate fund investors to exercise their votes. We provide Mutual Fund Services that help each client develop the right cost effective plan to reach their shareholders and ultimately achieve a favorable outcome.
Contested Proxy Solicitation Services
Closed-end funds' and BDC's contests can take various forms and involve a range of issues. These include board election challenges and advisory agreement terminations. The stakes are high, as the outcome can redefine control of the fund, its strategic direction and shareholder value. AST Fund Solutions helps companies minimize these distractions by organizing and managing the process.
Rights Offering Information Agent Services
When planning for a rights offering, you need to have full confidence in the seamless communications with your information agent. With AST Fund Solutions on your team, you are assured of seamless transactions and the highest commitment to customer service.
Our Difference
OUR ADVANTAGES
With vast experience in the proxy solicitation business, we have successfully managed some of the most complex initiatives ever conducted. We maintain two call centers with the capacity to staff more than 2,000 professionals, who would have the ability to speak with an estimated 100,000 shareholders each day. Our clients rely on us for experience-based insight and guidance, and we respond with customized solutions that meet each client’s unique needs.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
AST Fund Solutions has long understood the important role of technology and analytics. We offer clients innovative, technology-based solutions that can be tailored to meet their needs. We operate an in-house, secure online voting platform which allows a shareholder to vote multiple accounts with just one of their controls numbers. Our multiple outreach campaigns increase voting percentages to the required level. In addition to helping secure a favorable outcome, our solution offers clients greater efficiencies and cost savings.
BY THE NUMBERS
68MM
calls completed to date- Capacity to handle over 165,000 shareholder contacts per day
- Over 1,000 seat secure facility
- 68 million calls completed to date
- Handled over 45 million pieces of mail for clients
- More than 20 million votes recorded
How We Work
Thought Leadership
We offer industry-leading resources and thought leadership that includes an informative webinar series, publications and regulatory updates. Get started with:
- How AST Protects Client Data
- Ownership Intelligence Redefined
- Marty Flanigan Profiled on AST Innovation, Issuer Central®
- Creating an Activist Defense Strategy
- AST Chief Transformation Leader on Industry Trends
- Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) Ratings
- Repairing the Industry's Antiquated Proxy Plumbing
Articles
A federal district judge sided last month with Saba Capital in its case against the fund company’s closed-end provision that prevents shareholders from voting their shares over 10% without approval from other investors.
Reports
FEATURED
As you prepare for 2022, gain access to data and top takeaways from last season by downloading The Debriefing, D.F. King’s 2021 Season Review and Fall Engagement Guide.
"AST is currently soliciting a proxy for us. I haven’t received one shareholder complaint and that’s amazing! There’s a nuance and AST’s style seems to be different and easier for shareholders to engage with."
Mutual Fund Proxy Client