SEC Form N-PX

The SEC Form N-PX is completed by mutual funds and other registered management investment companies to disclose procedures for proxy votes. This details to investors how funds vote proxies related to different securities they hold. The form is filed each year with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the trailing-12-month period ending on June 30.

Funds are required by the SEC to file the form N-PX no later than August 31 of each year. Since this information is available to the public, investors can find proxy voting information for a mutual fund on the SEC's proprietary EDGAR database. Here you can also find a mutual fund's semi and annual report to shareholders, registration statement, and other SEC filings. 

The SEC Form N-PX filing requirements are covered under Section 30 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and Sections 13 and 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which require investment companies and trusts to file semiannual and annual reports with the SEC and shareholders.

Individuals should always have access to a registered investment company's proxy voting record, by either accessing or requesting the information directly from the company or through the SEC's website. Many companies make the information available online under "Investor Relations," or by providing a toll-free number for people wishing to request a copy by mail.

By federal law, companies are required to provide their proxy voting records, free of charge, within three days of receiving a request. Investors can find out how a mutual fund provides its proxy voting record through the annual or semi-annual report to shareholder and statement of additional information. 

A mutual fund must detail specific information on the SEC Form N-PX for matters related to securities held in the fund. That only occurs during shareholder meetings and when the fund is entitled to a vote. Some of the information found in the Form N-PX include the name of the issuer of the portfolio security, the exchange ticker symbol, the Committee on Uniform Security Identification Procedures (CUSIP) number, shareholder meeting date, and a brief overview of the issues up for a vote, among other material information. Even more important, funds that invest in voting securities are required to disclose the outcome of the vote. The fund can vote down the proposal, abstain, withhold for the election of directors, as well as choose for or against management.