JPMorgan Chase’s asset-management arm has ended its relationships with outside proxy advisory firms. It will move shareholder voting oversight in-house, using an internally evolved AI platform known as Proxy IQ. The change takes impact right after, because the proxy advisory sector confronted heightened regulatory scrutiny within the U.S.
The shift matters due to JPMorgan’s asset-management business supervise more than $7 trillion in assets and should cast votes throughout thousands of shareholder meetings each year. As per the reporting that referred to an internal memo, Proxy IQ will manage voting workflows and analyze information from more than 3,000 annual meetings, generating vote suggestions for portfolio managers who manages customer funds.
Why Proxy Advisers Are Under More Scrutiny
Proxy advisory firms along with Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) and Glass Lewis normally support institutional investors navigate proxy voting by giving research, operational assist, and vote suggestions on problems like board elections, shareholder proposals, and executive pay.
Critics oppose that the firms can exert outsized influence, mainly when many asset managers adopt same voting guidelines at scale. Regulatory attention has boosted in latest weeks. In December 2025, the White House issued an executive order directing agencies to check proxy adviser practices and associated voting dynamics.
That backdrop has boosted pressure on main asset managers to demonstrate how they reach voting decisions and how they make sure the ones selections align with client interest.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has also criticized the proxy advisory industry. He defined proxy advisers as “incompetent,” as per the latest reporting, a observation that underscores the corporation’s willingness to move far from third-party steering and closer to internal stewardship and technology.
What Changes for ISS, Glass Lewis, and the 2026 Proxy Season
The memo reportedly frames JPMorgan as the first major investment firm to completely remove external proxy advisers, moving beyond in advance plans to prevent using third parties for suggestions when still relying on them for operational guide.
The industry is already adjusting. ISS has highlighted that it does not set corporate governance standards and that its customers retain final decision-making authority. Meanwhile, Glass Lewis has stated it plans to stop providing dispensed “benchmark” vote suggestions by 2027 and could pivot closer to more tailored, customer-specific recommendation.
