EX-99.PROXY.POL 5 d114629dex99proxypol.htm EX-99.PROXY.POL EX-99.PROXY.POL

CBRE Clarion Global Real Estate Income Fund

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

Policy Statement: The 1940 Act requires funds that invest in voting securities (i) to disclose their proxy voting policies and procedures in their registration statement; and (ii) to file annually with the SEC and make available to their shareholders their actual proxy voting record.

The Fund delegates to the Advisor the responsibility to vote proxies. Companion rules under the Advisers Act require an investment adviser to:

 

  ¡   adopt proxy policies reasonably designed to ensure that the adviser votes proxies in the best interests of its clients, including addressing material conflicts of interest;
  ¡   disclose to clients information about its proxy policies; and
  ¡   maintain certain records relating to proxy voting.

These requirements are designed to ensure greater transparency in the voting of proxies.

The Fund has delegated proxy voting responsibility to the Advisor. The Advisor shall vote proxies in accordance with the Advisor’s policy and procedures. The Advisor is also responsible for filing the Fund’s Form N-PX with the SEC pursuant to Rule 30b1-4 under the 1940 Act.

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PROXY VOTING POLICY AND PROCEDURES

CBRE Clarion Securities

 

Section No.:    10_1000    Version:    3.3
Policy Owner:    R.Tull    Effective Date:    31 December 2011
File Location:    N:\Compliance\ComplGuid&Reg    Prior Policy:    N/A

Policy

Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders, and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised. When CBRE Clarion has discretion to vote the proxies of its clients, it will vote those proxies in the best interest of its clients and in accordance with this policy and procedures.

For the accounts over which CBRE Clarion maintains proxy voting authority, CBRE Clarion will vote proxies in accordance with its proxy voting guidelines. CBRE Clarion may, in certain circumstances, voluntarily adhere to guidelines established by its clients if doing so can be accomplished within the proxy voting process established with the proxy voting administrator. Otherwise, CBRE Clarion will not accept proxy voting authority to the extent clients wish to impose voting guidelines different from those of CBRE Clarion. As the responsibility for proxy voting is defined at the outset of the client relationship (and documented in the Investment Management Agreement), CBRE Clarion does not anticipate any confusion on the part of its clients in this respect.

Procedures and Controls

Proxy Voting Process and Administration

CBRE Clarion has engaged ISS (formerly Risk Metrics Group) to provide proxy voting administration services, including the tracking of proxies received for clients, providing notice to CBRE Clarion concerning dates votes are due, the actual casting of ballots and recordkeeping. It is important to recognize that the ability of ISS and CBRE Clarion to process proxy voting decisions in a timely manner is contingent in large part on the custodian banks holding securities for CBRE Clarion clients. On a daily basis, CBRE Clarion provides ISS with a list of securities held in each account over which CBRE Clarion has voting authority.

CBRE Clarion established its own proxy voting guidelines based on a template provided by ISS. Proxy voting guidelines are reviewed and approved by designated Senior Global Portfolio Managers initially and annually thereafter. The approved proxy voting guidelines are provided to ISS to facilitate processing proxy voting.

Voting decisions remain within the discretion of CBRE Clarion. On a daily basis, CBRE Clarion Securities Operations group reviews an online system maintained by ISS in order to monitor for upcoming votes. When a pending vote is identified, the Securities Operations team will forward the ballot to the appropriate Portfolio Manager or

 

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Investment Analyst for review, along with any supplemental information about the ballots provided by ISS and – if available – other research vendors to which CBRE Clarion subscribes. The Portfolio Manager or Investment Analyst determines the voting decision and communicates the vote to the Securities Operations group. If the voting decision is in contravention of the CBRE Clarion proxy voting guidelines, the Portfolio Manager or Investment Analyst’s decision must be approved by a Senior Global Portfolio Manager. Specifically, the Portfolio Manager or Investment Analyst must complete a Proxy Voting Form explaining the rationale for voting against the established guidelines. The Proxy Voting Form is reviewed by a Senior Global Portfolio Manager and the Chief Compliance Officer (or General Counsel), evidenced by signature.

Conflicts of Interest

CBRE Clarion will identify any conflicts that exist between the interests of CBRE Clarion and its clients as it relates to proxy voting. As noted in the Code of Ethics, CBRE Clarion obtains information from all employees regarding outside business activities and personal relationships with companies within the investable universe of real estate securities, such as serving as board members or executive officers of an issuer. Additionally, CBRE Clarion will consider the conflicts associated with any ballot which identifies a relationship to CBRE Global Investors or another affiliate within CBRE Group. Lastly, CBRE Clarion will consider any ballot which identifies a client of CBRE Clarion as a potential conflict of interest.

If a material conflict is identified for a particular ballot, CBRE Clarion will refer the ballot and conflict to the CBRE Clarion Risk & Control Committee for review. In such situations, CBRE Clarion will generally defer the vote either to the recommendation provided by ISS (not based on the CBRE Clarion guidelines) or to the affected client(s) so that the client may determine its voting decision.

Proxy Voting Records

Except as otherwise noted, the proxy voting process is coordinated by the Securities Operations group. Compliance is responsible for oversight of and testing of the process. As noted above, ISS provides recordkeeping services, including retaining a copy of each proxy statement received and each vote cast. This information is available to CBRE Clarion upon request.

CBRE Clarion will maintain files relating to its proxy voting procedures in an easily accessible place. Records will be maintained and preserved for five years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on a record, with records for the first two years kept on site. These files will include:

 

  (1) copies of the proxy voting policies and procedures and any amendments thereto,

 

  (2) a copy of any document CBRE Clarion created that was material to making a decision how to vote proxies or that memorializes that decision, and

 

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  (3) a copy of each written client request for information on how CBRE Clarion voted such client’s proxies and a copy of any written response to any (written or oral) client request for information on how CBRE Clarion voted its proxies.

Clients may contact the Compliance Department at (610) 995-2500 to obtain a copy of these policies and procedures (and, if desired, the firm’s proxy voting guidelines) or to request information on the voting of such client’s proxies. A written response will list, with respect to each voted proxy that the client has inquired about:

 

  (1) the name of the issuer,

 

  (2) the proposal voted upon, and

 

  (3) how CBRE Clarion voted the client’s proxy.

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