Goldman Sachs' proposed retail investor voting instruction program bags SEC nod

Goldman Sachs (GS) plans to give its shareholders an option to let its board of directors decide how their votes will be cast, according to a letter by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC has approved Goldman's proposed voting instruction program, as part of which retail investors can vote with the board by default.

Retail investors will continue to receive a definitive proxy statement for each annual or special meeting of shareholders and may at no cost opt out of the Base Program to cancel their voting instructions for future meetings, according to the SEC letter.

The investors will receive annual reminders of their enrollment in the Base Program, the voting instructions they have selected, their ability to opt-out to cancel their voting instructions for future meetings, and their ability to override their standing voting instructions by voting using the proxy materials they receive for the relevant meeting.

Retail investors account for about 30% of the company's shares, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News.

The news comes as the Wall Street giant faces objections to large executive pay packages, according to the Bloomberg report published on Monday.