Goldman Sachs Wins SEC Approval for Board-Default Voting Option for Retail Investors

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. received SEC approval to let individual shareholders default their votes to the board of directors, a move that could bolster management's position on executive pay proposals. The SEC issued its letter on Monday, September 28, 2026. Retail investors hold roughly 30% of Goldman's shares. The program, administered by Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., automatically registers their votes in line with the board unless shareholders opt out or vote manually on specific proposals. The change follows a year in which a third of voting shareholders opposed $80 million retention bonuses for CEO David Solomon and President John Waldron, the firm's largest-ever pay backlash. About a quarter of shares abstained from the compensation vote. Goldman is the second company to receive such approval, following ExxonMobil in September 2025.