Friday 10 November 2023

Quilter plc

Update Statement with respect to 2023 Annual General Meeting Resolution Vote

At our AGM held on 18 May 2023, resolution 16, which sought authorisation for political donations or expenditure, passed with the requisite majority of votes, however 25% of the votes cast were against the resolution.

As we reported following the 2022 AGM, there was a significant difference in voting between the South African and UK share registers on this resolution with 58.88% and 99.92% support respectively. In line with provision 4 of the UK Corporate Governance Code, we have continued to directly engage, as we have done since Listing in 2018, with our largest South African shareholders on this resolution to further understand their views. We do believe our South African shareholders now have a better understanding of the purpose of this resolution however we continue to recognise that in a current South African governance context, any linkage between business and politics is sensitive. Quilter has no intention of undertaking political donations and has not done so since Listing but, in line with other listed UK companies, has sought such authority to avoid any inadvertent breaches of UK company law given the breadth of the applicable provisions.  We understand the importance of continuing dialogue and effective communication with our shareholders to ensure that it is clear that the Board believe that this authority is simply a precautionary measure to ensure that the Company (and its subsidiaries) does not inadvertently breach in the UK, South Africa or anywhere else in the world UK company law. We will also continue to explain clearly the reasons why the Board believe this resolution is an important protection for the Company in the 2024 Notice of Annual General Meeting.

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About Quilter plc:

Quilter plc is a leading UK-centric wealth management business, helping to create prosperity for the generations of today and tomorrow.

Quilter oversees £101.4 billion in customer investments (as at 30 September 2023).

It has an adviser and customer offering spanning financial advice, investment platforms, multi-asset investment solutions, and discretionary fund management.

The business is comprised of two segments: Affluent and High Net Worth.

Affluent encompasses the financial planning businesses, Quilter Financial Planning, the Quilter Investment Platform and Quilter Investors, the Multi-asset investment solutions business.

High Net Worth includes the discretionary fund management business, Quilter Cheviot, together with Quilter Private Client Advisers.