🔒For public companies, including in CT, virtual annual meetings remain a mainstay post-pandemic; Here’s why

Travelers Cos. and The Hartford both held their annual meetings on the same day last month, and both were attended by climate protests, as they have been consistently in recent years.

But there was a key difference. While Travelers welcomed shareholders in person at Hartford’s Marriott Downtown on Columbus Boulevard, The Hartford’s shareholders convened entirely virtually, welcomed to an online meeting after entering a 16-digit control number found on their proxy card.

Such virtual annual meetings have been a significant trend, ever since the COVID-19 lockdowns of 2020.

“Immediately post-pandemic we saw a bit of a return to companies holding meetings in person,” said Aaron Wendt, director of U.S. governance policy for proxy advisory services company Glass Lewis. “But overall, I think the trend toward virtual shareholder meetings represents a broader shift to a more digital world that was simply accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Glass Lewis began tracking this phenomenon after COVID, showing that in 2021, 63% of public company annual meetings remained virtual. By 2025, that has ticked back to 58.6%, but remains a majority.

The reasons for staying virtual are varied. The Hartford did not provide an interview for this article, but issued a statement:

“Our annual meeting of shareholders is virtual for several reasons, including accessibility, reduced cost and security, compared with an in-person meeting,” the company said. “Shareholders can access the meeting regardless of their location, which increases the potential for participation beyond attendance at an in-person event. In addition, a virtual meeting is more cost-effective, reducing expenses associated with organizing and hosting an event, such as travel and security.”

The mention of security is significant in the wake of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder in December. Thompson was shot and killed in midtown Manhattan, where he was attending his company’s annual investor meeting.

The shooting came amid increased concern about the threats to corporate executives, particularly at public events, according to published reports.

Virtual best practices

Meantime, the theme of convenience for both company and shareholders is a common one. Stamford-based Philip Morris International also holds its annual meeting virtually.

“PMI is a global company, and so are our investors and shareholders,” the company said. “The virtual annual meeting format provides for additional flexibility and accessibility, allowing all of our shareholders regardless of their resources, to participate from anywhere in the U.S. and across the world. This aligns with our commitment to engagement, and open conversations during these meetings.”

That point about engagement and open conversations actually gives a clue to a key shareholder misgiving about the online trend.

“There’s plenty of investors who’ve expressed concern with virtual-only shareholder meetings, primarily because it allows companies to limit shareholder participation and can reduce shareholder rights,” Wendt said.

At an in-person meeting, shareholders have the opportunity to speak from the floor and ask potentially unexpected and awkward questions that have not been vetted in advance. At the virtual equivalent, some corporations ask shareholders to submit questions before they are called on.

“It gives the company control over the meeting and they can shut out certain questions, especially if they’re in a sensitive industry or have dealt with a recent conflict or some type of scandal,” Wendt said. “It can definitely lead to increased reputational damage for companies, if they’re seen as trying to avoid tough questions through their virtual-only meeting.”

That has led Glass Lewis to develop best practices for such meetings.

“Overall, we support companies holding shareholder meetings by virtual means. We believe it broadens access to a larger group,” he said. “We look for companies to provide clear and transparent disclosure in their proxy statements and other filings about how they’re going to be conducting their virtual-only meetings.”

That includes addressing shareholder participation, how shareholders can ask questions, outlining how the company will respond and whether shareholders are required to submit questions in advance.

Activists in action

Annual meetings have long provided a platform for people with their own agenda.

This year, environmental group As You Sow submitted a resolution at the Travelers annual meeting that requests the company to disclose the expected impact of its climate-related pricing and coverage decisions on the sustainability of its homeowners’ insurance business under various climate scenarios.

The resolution only made it onto the agenda after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ruled the company had to include it.

Meanwhile, activists representing the Connecticut Climate Finance Coalition, which wants insurers to take bolder action to help prevent climate change, gathered outside the Marriott in Hartford to hand out flyers to incoming shareholders and Travelers employees.

“A big thing about this is just public education and awareness,” said Helen Humphreys, of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group, which participated in the protest.

But, she says, protestors are not deterred by the virtual trend. In fact, climate protests against insurers first gained momentum in 2020 during the lockdown, and protestors also gathered in person outside The Hartford’s headquarters during the company’s virtual event.

“Digital campaigning, even when the (annual meetings) are virtual, can be very effective,” Humphreys said. “While they’re on a virtual meeting, we’re going to be tagging them on social media and saying, ‘why are you doing this?’”

But she does believe, beyond convenience, companies look to avoid the awkwardness of confrontation by moving online.

“They don’t have to face the activists, they don’t have to face the people that have these questions — at least not directly,” she said. “And so, I’m sure that they see that as a benefit.”