Who can use BlackRock Voting Choice?

BlackRock offers it to institutional clients in eligible index funds and separate accounts, and to eligible holders of its participating U.S. retail fund. Any eligible U.S. fund investor that receives fund proxies through email or mail will receive the proxy voting policy survey.

Which policies can individual investors choose?

Egan-Jones Wealth-Focused Policy, Glass Lewis Climate Policy, Glass Lewis Corporate Governance-Focused Policy, Glass Lewis Benchmark Policy, ISS Catholic Faith-Based Policy, ISS Global Board-Aligned Policy, ISS Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Policy, or BlackRock’s own BlackRock Investment Stewardship Benchmark U.S. Voting Guidelines.

Can I choose a policy for my 401(k)?

Not yourself: in an employer plan the plan is BlackRock’s client, so the plan decides. You can ask its committee whether the plan’s BlackRock holdings are eligible and to enroll them if they are.

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BlackRock Voting Choice: who can choose how the shares vote

BlackRock Voting Choice is a proprietary offering launched in January 2022 that provides eligible clients with opportunities to participate in the proxy voting process where legally and operationally viable. This process is sometimes known as pass-through voting. (BlackRock Voting Choice) BlackRock says index equity clients with about $923 billion of assets were using it (BlackRock, June 30, 2026), and that $3.96 trillion of its index equity assets are eligible (BlackRock, June 30, 2026).

Choose how your share votes

Hold BlackRock funds through your employer’s 401(k)?

BlackRock offers Voting Choice to institutional clients in eligible index funds and separate accounts. In an employer plan the plan holds the fund for you, so the plan is the one that can choose. Ask yours:

Draft the letter to my plan →It opens in your own email. Send it to your HR or benefits team.

Hold BlackRock’s participating retail fund?

Any eligible U.S. fund investor that receives fund proxies through email or mail will receive the proxy voting policy survey. (BlackRock Voting Choice) BlackRock names the fund only as one of its largest ETFs; its U.S. retail program FAQ says who receives the survey.

The policies for individual investors

For its U.S. retail fund BlackRock lists these, beside its own BlackRock Investment Stewardship Benchmark U.S. Voting Guidelines:

Egan-Jones Wealth-Focused Policy: what it does, in Egan-Jones’ words
Glass Lewis Climate Policy
Glass Lewis Corporate Governance-Focused Policy
Glass Lewis Benchmark Policy
ISS Catholic Faith-Based Policy
ISS Global Board-Aligned Policy
ISS Socially Responsible Investment (SRI) Policy

A proxy voting policy is a document that provides principles-based guidance on how a vote may be cast on certain agenda items at a company’s shareholder meeting. Voting policies are not exhaustive and are applied on a case-by-case basis. (BlackRock Voting Choice) BlackRock compares them in its Voting Choice policy comparison. We describe policies; we don’t recommend one.

For institutions

Institutional clients can also choose the Egan-Jones Standard Policy, Glass Lewis Catholic Policy, Glass Lewis ESG Policy, Glass Lewis Public Pension Policy, Glass Lewis Taft-Hartley Policy, ISS Benchmark Policy, ISS Public Pension Fund Policy, ISS Sustainability Policy, ISS Taft-Hartley Policy.

How a choice is applied

Once a voting policy is selected, it will be applied to the shareholder meetings of companies held in the fund after a reasonable delay (subject to certain exclusions), based on investors’ proportional ownership of the fund. (BlackRock Voting Choice)

How BlackRock’s own funds voted this season, fund by fund, from their filings: BlackRock proxy voting record (and BlackRock Voting Choice, in the filings). Vanguard runs a program of its own: Vanguard Investor Choice.

SourcesBlackRock Voting Choice; U.S. Retail Program FAQs; Voting Choice policy comparison