Trust as the Cornerstone of Capital Markets

By Jonathan Smalley, COO and Co-Founder of Proxymity

Trust has always been central to the functioning of capital markets, but it has never been under greater scrutiny than it is today. Investors expect not only financial performance but credible evidence that companies are acting responsibly on governance, cybersecurity, climate risk and data privacy. In this context, transparency is more than a virtue, it is a necessity.

Yet in too many cases, the flow of information between companies and their shareholders remains slow, fragmented and opaque. Legacy processes and chains of intermediaries introduce delays and distortions, creating information asymmetry that undermines confidence. This could result in shareholders not receiving accurate and timely information from the companies they invest in, or they may find their votes diluted by inefficiencies in the proxy process. This causes frustration for investors, heightened reputational risk for issuers, and a governance environment that struggles to meet the expectations of regulators and society.

Research by PwC highlights that trust in corporate communication is now a top priority for investors. It is not enough for companies to make claims about their strategy or sustainability credentials. Those claims must be delivered consistently, backed by credible data, and made verifiable through reliable channels. In a fragmented digital environment, achieving this level of rigour requires more than traditional communication methods.

This is where technology can make a decisive difference. Proxymity was established to address the weaknesses in capital markets infrastructure by providing a secure, real-time platform for shareholder communications and proxy voting. By connecting issuers, intermediaries and investors directly, Proxymity ensures that information flows are immediate, transparent and accurate.

Proxymity’s Vote Connect enables ballots to be transmitted swiftly and faithfully between companies and their shareholders, eliminating the distortions that can arise from manual or delayed processes. Proxymity’s Shareholder Disclosure solution provides intermediaries with a fully automated, regulatory compliance solution streamlining shareholder disclosure requests. Complementing these, Proxymity’s Shareholder Insights equips issuers with the data they need to understand their investor base more fully and engage with greater precision. In every case, the principle is the same: communications must be transparent, rigorous and verifiable.

The advantages are significant. Investors gain confidence that their rights are being protected and that their voices are heard in full. Intermediaries gain confidence that their disclosure requests are streamlined and automated, allowing them to stay ahead of any global regulations. Issuers strengthen communication by knowing their shareholders and how they vote, enabling more effective and meaningful engagement. Above all, the market as a whole benefits from greater resilience when its participants are aligned around transparent and trusted flows of information.

The forces driving this shift will only intensify. Regulation is tightening, particularly around ESG disclosures and shareholder rights. Investor expectations continue to rise, with demands for more detail, more timeliness and greater accountability. Against this backdrop, companies that fail to embed transparency at the heart of their operations will face growing scrutiny, potential sanctions and erosion of trust.

The future of capital markets depends on more than financial transactions. It rests on the confidence that information is accurate, communications are reliable, and governance processes are inclusive and fair. That is why transparency and trust can no longer be considered optional attributes, they are fundamental to sustainable value creation.

By delivering real-time, verifiable communication across the shareholder ecosystem, Proxymity is enabling issuers and investors to meet these demands. Its technology provides not only efficiency but also the assurance that claims are backed by data, votes are counted as cast, and reputational risk is managed through consistency and clarity.

Capital markets thrive when participants trust both the system and one another. In bridging gaps, removing asymmetries, and embedding rigour into shareholder communication, Proxymity is helping to build the next generation of market infrastructure, one where transparency is standard and trust is restored as the cornerstone of sustainable growth.

(1) https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/governance-insights-center/library/us-investment-trends.html