Tumelo, a London-based fintech, is teaming up with the world’s second-largest asset manager to roll out its voting choice technology to investors in Vanguard equity funds, significantly expanding the reach of its stewardship offering.
As part of the pilot, investors will be able to choose from four of Tumelo’s proxy voting policies: the company board-aligned policy, the Egan-Jones wealth-focused policy, the Glass Lewis ESG policy and Vanguard’s own fund manager policy.
The move will give investors in pooled funds greater influence over stewardship outcomes, including the option to adopt a more climate-focused voting stance than the manager might otherwise apply. Vanguard has previously faced criticism from shareholder groups over its low levels of support for climate resolutions and did not back any environmental or social shareholder proposals at US portfolio companies in 2025.
By partnering with Tumelo, Vanguard said it aims to give investors greater choice. Jon Cleborne, head of Europe at Vanguard, said at the launch of the pilot: “This is about giving UK investors the chance to have more of a voice. Many clients have expressed a desire to have more of a say on shareholder votes, and the pilot reflects our commitment to meeting their needs.”
Georgia Stewart, chief executive of Tumelo, added: “As stewardship continues to evolve, investor choice in proxy voting is becoming increasingly important. We are excited to support Vanguard in delivering that choice in an innovative, secure and scalable way.”
The pilot is open to UK-based professional intermediaries, with investors able to sign up from 13 January 2026. The funds participating in the pilot are the Vanguard ESG Screened Developed World All Cap Equity Index Fund (UK), the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund, the Vanguard FTSE U.K. All Share Index Unit Trust and the Vanguard U.S. Equity Index Fund.
