The fully connected service will enable Citi’s clients in the region to benefit from Proxymity’s unique ability to convey golden source announcements, real-time voting and vote confirmations across the entire proxy voting ecosystem. The service will go live in April and is another landmark in the Citi - Proxymity relationship.

Through the Citi and Proximity connection and Proxymity’s live connection to Computershare issuers, issuers and their international investors in the market for the first time will be directly connected to real-time, transparent communications.

The rollout in South Africa continues the trend of rapid global growth for Proxymity. Deployment in South Africa represents the first market in the region to go fully live with Vote Connect Total, following successful collaborations between Proxymity and Citi across Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Citi clients in the region now also gain access to Proxymity’s digital platform to receive electronic meeting announcements and votes instantly and accurately, enabling them to service their clients in near real time.

Proxymity Vote Connect Total is a market-leading solution to calls from issuers, intermediaries and investors demand for increased transparency, allowing investor communications to be delivered in real time and error-free through the full chain of ownership using “golden source” data. Proxymity’s digital proxy voting service removes friction by remedying the inefficiencies of existing voting channels, at time of increased shareholder involvement in company governance and global economic uncertainty.

These improvements will be felt across the South African market as issuers, intermediaries, and investors alike benefit from unrivalled transparency, and up to five more days for investors to make critical decisions on investments.

The Network Forum Africa meeting, taking place in Johannesburg from the 14-15 March, is a further indication of the growth of the South African market. The preeminent post-trade and custody gathering, of which Proxymity and Citi are both event partners, will see Proxymity CEO Dean Little speak on a panel entitled “Proxy Voting in the Region, How to Automate and Simplify,” with today’s announcement a milestone in realising this ambition.

Proxymity was supported by Citi Venture’s D10XSM program, an internal accelerator that supports the creation, development and launch of new concepts by employees across Citi businesses. The platform was first launched following a collaborative pilot partnership, and the company was spun out by Citi in April 2020.

Dean Little, Co-Founder and CEO, Proxymity, said: “Our deep and sustained relationship with Citi has proven immensely successful across the UK and Europe. We are excited to translate this success to the South African market, allowing Citi’s clients unprecedent access to a real-time, transparent proxy voting service ahead of a pivotal voting season where shareholders are demanding more from their boardrooms than ever before. Citi is an established custodian in South Africa, and we look forward to providing further value and transparency for their clients in the region.”

“The provision of Proxymity in South Africa reflects Citi’s commitment to providing the most innovative solutions to improve client experience and bringing efficiencies to the local markets. Through the simplification of processes and platforms, clients are now able to benefit from the synergies of leveraging the same proxy solution utilised in the UK and Europe.” said Masha Maharaj, Citi’s Cluster Head for Sub Saharan Africa and the Securities Services Head for South Africa.”